4 Jan 23
News

Tom Zhu now Elon Musk’s right-hand man at Tesla

Tom Zhu now Elon Musk’s right-hand man at Tesla

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has appointed Tom Zhu to head the company’s United States assembly plants as well as sales operations in North America and Europe, according to an internal posting of reporting lines on Tuesday (3 January).

The report, which was reviewed by Reuters, also stated that Mr. Zhu’s title of vice president for Greater China had not changed and that he remained Tesla’s most senior executive for sales in Asia. The move makes Zhu the highest-profile executive at Tesla after Elon Musk.

Tesla managers reporting to Zhu include: Jason Shawhan, director of manufacturing at the Gigafactory in Texas; Hrushikesh Sagar, senior director of manufacturing at Tesla's Fremont factory; Joe Ward, vice president in charge of Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and Troy Jones, vice president of North America sales and service, according to news service Economic Times.

Tesla said on Monday that it had delivered 405,278 vehicles (short of Wallstreet estimates) in 4Q22 compared to 308,600 vehicles in the same period of 2021. On Tuesday, Tesla’s stock dropped 12.2% to $108.10.

Photo: left to right, Tom Zhu and Elon Musk (source: Duke University)
 

Authored by: Daniel Bland