Elon Goes Red: Tesla Promotes China Boss to Head of U.S. Plants and Sales

Elon Musk has reportedly promoted executive Tom Zhu, Tesla’s chief of operations in China, to the head of U.S. plants and sales, making him the company’s number two executive after Musk himself.

Business Insider reports that Tesla has announced the promotion of Tom Zhu, its current China chief, to the role of Head of Plants and Sales in the United States. The news was initially reported by Reuters, which obtained access to an internal posting detailing the new reporting lines.

Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive officer of Tesla Motors Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Zhu’s promotion makes him the second highest-ranking executive at the electric vehicle company, behind only CEO Elon Musk. There have been calls from some shareholders for Musk to resign following a significant decline in Tesla’s market capitalization, which saw a drop of over $700 billion in the past year.

Shareholders have expressed concerns about a recent decrease in Tesla’s deliveries, which may be partially attributed to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on production in China. Additionally, the company’s share price has fallen 47 percent since October 27, when CEO Elon Musk completed the acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion.

These factors, combined with Tesla’s underperformance in meeting Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter deliveries, have caused the stock to drop 3.7 percent to trade at $118.60 ahead of Tuesday’s market opening.

In response to these challenges, Tesla has promoted Tom Zhu, who joined the company in 2014, to the position of Head of Plants and Sales in the US. Zhu will continue in his role as Vice President for Greater China while also assuming responsibility for assembly plants, sales operations, services, and deliveries in the North American region.

Peter Schweizer, who is a Breitbart News senior contributor, the president of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Institute (GAI), and the best-selling author of Clinton Cash and Profiles in Corruption, outlines in his latest book Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win, how American elites — including the Silicon Valley Masters of the Universe — purposefully aid the communist regime of China.

Red-Handed also explains Elon Musk’s torrid love affair with the country’s communist dictatorship. After denying he would open Tesla factories in China, Musk dramatically changed his tune.

According to Red-Handed:

Then Beijing rolled out the red carpet: Chinese government–backed banks coughed up $1.6 billion in subsidized loans. And the regulatory red tape to build in China was eliminated by government authorities. “What surprised me is how little time it took for the regulatory process to get approved by the Chinese government,” explained Ivan Su, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. The enormous plant was built in less than a year.

Musk arrived in the country for the groundbreaking ceremony and met with top-ranking officials. Two days later, he was meeting with Vice Premier Li Keqiang in the private compound reserved for high- ranking visitors. “I love China very much and I am willing to come here more,” Musk reportedly told Li. The vice premier offered to make him a permanent resident in the country.