Top Tesla executive Tom Zhu has been reassigned to China, according to a report by Electrek. This move comes amidst a series of departures of other high-ranking executives from Elon Musk's company. Musk is consolidating his influence at Tesla, especially as a crucial vote regarding his $47 billion pay package approaches.
Tom Zhu, previously responsible for Tesla's US plants and sales and effectively the second in command to Musk, has now been appointed as the Vice President of China, as per Electrek. This change reflects Musk's tightening grip on the electric carmaker.
Before this reassignment, Zhu had taken on additional responsibilities at Tesla as Musk became increasingly occupied with other ventures, as per Electrek. Last year, Reuters reported Zhu's promotion, noting his prior leadership at the Gigafactory Shanghai manufacturing plant.
Recently, Musk has taken back control of Tesla's North American sales operations, as reported by Electrek. This move comes amid multiple rounds of layoffs at Tesla and the departure of several top executives, including SVP of powertrain and electrical engineering Drew Baglino and VP of public policy and business development Rohan Patel.
Tesla has not yet responded to Business Insider's request for comment on these developments.
Musk's $47 billion pay package faces uncertainty as a Delaware court overturned his 2018 CEO performance award in January, following a shareholder lawsuit arguing it was excessive. The Tesla board is urging shareholders to reapprove the package in an upcoming vote.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported Musk's strategic shifts at Tesla, focusing on AI technology and robotaxis, which could make him more indispensable to the company's future. Despite Tesla's challenging earnings figures last quarter, the stock price surged after Musk promised more affordable EVs and hinted at his robotaxi ambitions.