Elon Musk is tightening his grip on Tesla
Elon Musk took a surprise trip to China over the weekend. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
- Musk is consolidating power at Tesla as a vote over his $47 billion pay package looms.
One of Tesla’s top executives has been reassigned to China in another sign that Elon Musk is tightening his grip on the electric carmaker.
Tom Zhu, who was previously in charge of Tesla’s US plants and sales — effectively making him second in command to Elon Musk — has now been named VP of China, Electrek reports.
Prior to the move, Zhu had assumed more responsibilities at Tesla as Musk was increasingly occupied by X, according to Electrek.
Reuters reported last year that Zhu — who had formerly led the Gigafactory Shanghai manufacturing plant — had been promoted.
Now, Musk has resumed control of Tesla’s North American sales operations, Electrek reports.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
In recent weeks, Tesla has undergone multiple waves of layoffs and seen the departure of roughly half a dozen top execs, including SVP of powertrain and electrical engineering Drew Baglino and VP of public policy and business development Rohan Patel.
That’s apparently given Musk the opportunity to consolidate Tesla’s power.
Meanwhile, Musk’s $47 billion pay package hangs in the balance.
A Delaware court overturned Musk’s 2018 CEO performance award in January after a shareholder filed a lawsuit arguing it was excessive. Tesla’s board is urging shareholders to reapprove the package in another vote.
Ahead of that vote, The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Musk has been making changes at the company — including a focus on AI technology and robotaxis — that would make him more indispensable to its future. Despite Tesla’s rough earnings figures last quarter, the stock still shot up after Musk promised cheaper EVs and hinted at his robotaxi ambitions.
If you enjoyed this story, be sure to follow Business Insider on Microsoft Start.