Tesla’s director for China is currently in the United States to help with production. According to his collaborators, he could take over more important tasks within the company.
Why is this important?
Elon Musk has been doing a lot of Twitter lately, and less of Tesla. This is causing the price of the electric vehicle manufacturer to fall. What push the company to find someone to (in part at least) replace Musk at the head of Tesla?Facts : Tesla’s number 1 in China and Asia is in the United States.
- But of his mission: to boost the production of Tesla. He is also accompanied by a whole team, including the director of the Shanghai plant, Song Gang.
- Just last week, his hands were dirty at factories in California and Texas, sources told Reuters. Reuters. He notably worked on the Cybertruck, a new model whose release has been reported many times.
The essential : Save Tesla, in full turmoil?
- Is Zhu just there to help out the production? For his colleagues in Shanghai, he left for a more important mission within Tesla. One of his closest collaborators has also recently shared a farewell poem to his expected on social networks, as erased Reuters.
- In any case, Tesla is in turmoil. According to investors and observers, there is a lack of leadership now that Elon Musk is mostly busy with Twitter.
- At this very moment, Musk is also looking for a new CEO for Twitter, where he remains active all the same. In November, he announced that Tesla had already named a successor.
- Conclusion : Is Musk going to step aside at Tesla to let Zhu take over? It would be surprising. But it could be that he delegates part of the missions and powers within Tesla to Zhu, or someone else (this would not be the first time that Tesla is looking for such a “second CEO”) . This scenario may in any case seem likely. It would be good news for Tesla’s stock price, which has lost 60% since the start of the year. But that remains a hypothesis.
The detail : who is Tom Zhu?
- The man, born in China and now with a New Zealand passport, of a lifestyle described as frugal and low-key, leads the Tesla boat through the storm in China.
- During the second quarter, when production in Shanghai had dropped by 36% compared to the previous quarter and the entire city had been placed under confinement, Zhu asked his employees to remain in the closed circuit of the factory ( a former military camp had thus been transformed into makeshift accommodation), which he also did himself. Like Musk, he even slept at the factory.
- During the third quarter, production rebounded by 70%. Over the full year, it should narrowly miss the 50% growth target. Zhu is also distinguished by measures and innovations that reduce production costs and time.