Tesla’s China boss Tom Zhu has been promoted to direct oversight of the electric automotive maker’s US assembly plants as well as sales operations in North America and Europe, in response to internal reporting lines reviewed by Reuters.
Tesla’s entry showed that Zhu’s title of VP for Greater China had not modified, and that he had also retained his responsibilities as Tesla’s top executive sales officer for the remainder of Asia as of Tuesday.
The move makes Zhu the most senior Tesla executive after CEO Elon Musk, with direct oversight of deliveries in all major markets and operations at key manufacturing centers.
Reporting lines for Zhu would separate the design and development of Tesla vehicles – each areas by which Musk was heavily involved – creating an apparent alternative for Musk in the more short-term challenges of managing global sales and production.
Tesla didn’t immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
Reuters reviewed the organization chart that was published internally by Tesla and confirmed the change in two individuals who saw it. They asked to stay anonymous as they weren’t authorized to debate the matter.
Zhu and his reporting team were brought in by Tesla late last 12 months to troubleshoot manufacturing issues in the United States, raising expectations amongst his colleagues that he was being groomed for a much bigger role.
Zhu’s appointment to the global role comes at a time when Musk was distracted by the Twitter acquisition, and Tesla analysts and investors called for motion that will deepen a senior management position and permit him to deal with Tesla.
Under Zhu, Tesla’s Shanghai factory has rebounded heavily from China’s COVID-19 lockdowns.
Tesla said Monday it delivered 405,278 vehicles in the fourth quarter, lower than Wall Street estimates, in response to data compiled by Refinitiv.
In the same period a 12 months earlier, the company delivered 308.6 thousand. vehicles.
Tesla executives reporting to Zhu include Jason Shawhan, director of production at Gigafactory in Texas; Hrushikesh Sagar, senior director of producing at Tesla’s Fremont plant; Joe Ward, vp, Europe, Middle East and Africa; and Troy Jones, vp of sales and repair for North America, in response to Tesla’s reporting line notice reviewed by Reuters.
Tesla’s country managers in China, Japan, Australia and Recent Zealand continued to report back to Zhu, in response to the notice.
Zhu has no direct report back to Tesla’s still-expanding Berlin factory, but an individual accustomed to the matter said responsibility for the operation would fall to the reporting line at the Amsterdam Ward. Ward couldn’t be contacted immediately for comment.
Zhu, who was born in China but now has a Recent Zealand passport, joined Tesla in 2014. Previously, he was a project manager for a corporation founded by his MBA classmates at Duke University, advising Chinese contractors working on infrastructure projects in Africa.
During the two-month COVID lockdown in Shanghai, Zhu was one among the first groups of staff sleeping in the factory to try to maintain it running, individuals who worked with him said.
Zhu, an easy-going manager who wears a trendy haircut, prefers Tesla fleece jackets and lives in a government-subsidized apartment a 10-minute drive from the Shanghai Gigafactory. It was not immediately clear whether he would move after his promotion.
It’s taking control of Tesla’s major manufacturing facilities as the company prepares to launch the Cybertruck and facelifted Model 3 sedan. Tesla has also said it’s developing a lower-cost electric vehicle, but has not given details of that plan.
When Tesla tweeted the photo last month to have a good time its Austin, Texas facility, which reached a milestone in the production of its Model Y, Zhu was amongst a whole bunch of smiling staff on the factory floor.
Allan Wang, who was promoted to vp of sales in China in July, was named as the legal representative of the operation in registration documents filed with Chinese regulators as a part of a change made by the company last month.
Tesla board member James Murdoch said in November that the company had recently identified a possible successor to Musk, without naming him. Murdoch didn’t reply to a request for comment.
Elektrek previously said Zhu would assume responsibility for sales, delivery and repair in the US.