Tesla officially announced Tom Zhu’s new position in the company in a recent SEC filing. Under Executive Officers, Tom Zhu is listed as Tesla’s Senior Vice President of Automotive—a significant role for the former Giga Shanghai head.
Tom Zhu has years of experience and the knowledge to fulfill his duties as Tesla’s Vice President of Automotive. He officially took up the mantle on April 2023.
“Mr. Zhu joined Tesla in April 2014, and served in various operational roles before being appointed as Vice President, Greater China, where he led the construction and operations of Gigafactory Shanghai. Mr. Zhu holds a bachelor’s degree of commerce in information technology from the Auckland University of Technology and an M.B.A. from Duke University,” wrote Tesla in its SEC filing.
Zhu quickly worked his way up Tesla, starting as the head of Tesla China when Gigafactory Shanghai was built. Under Zhu, Tesla’s Shanghai factory steadily ramped up Model 3 and then later Model Y production. Tesla China increased its income by over 100% in two consecutive years between 2019 and 2021
In July 2022, Zhu became the top executive overseeing Tesla’s Asia Pacific operations. All of Tesla’s senior managers in the Asia Pacific region reported to Zhu at the time. The position was previously held by an executive from the United States.
By January 2023, Tesla gave Zhu a position in North America, leading sales, service, and deliveries in the region. Soon after, rumors spread that Zhu would have a more significant role at Tesla.
During 2023 Investor Day, Tom Zhu appeared beside Drew Baglino. He specifically talked about Tesla’s gigafactories and how the company could make more cars faster. At the event, Zhu was introduced as the head of North American sales, service, and deliveries.
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