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Tom Zhu Xiatong is Tesla's new vice president of Asia-Pacific and North America. The appointment was announced by Elon Musk last month and came at a time when the company's market capitalization has declined by more than 700 billion dollars. In the fourth quarter, Tesla delivered fewer vehicles than Wall Street expected. But the company's deliveries were still significantly higher than the 308,600 vehicles in the same period last year.

Although Zhu has been with Tesla for four years, he has remained largely out of the spotlight. Despite this, he has been responsible for the turnaround of the company's Shanghai factory, which recently resumed production. After the factory's COVID-19 lockdown in the spring of 2022, Zhu and his team stepped in to oversee and help solve production problems.

While he has been credited with the turnaround of the Shanghai plant, his role has begun to expand. He now has responsibilities for the assembly and production of Model 3s and Model Ys at the Shanghai Gigafactory. In addition, half of the company's global production will be handled at the facility. As a result, he is one of the most important members of the company. He started with the company in 2014 after graduating from Duke University and working as a project manager for Chinese contractors in Africa. When Tesla announced its expansion plans in China, he was tasked with leading the team. He says his team helped "make the plant a success." During his tenure at the plant, he helped the company hone its product line, which includes the Model S, the Model X, and the Model 3.

Tesla has also been expanding rapidly in the US, with two main assembly plants. A third - the Fremont Factory in California - is due to open later this year. Both factories will produce the Model 3 sedan, available in various colors, including black. And the Cybertruck pick-up, a new model that can be bought for less than $25,000.

In a video interview with PCauto, Zhu revealed that he wears a Tesla logo cap and prefers to drive with his coworkers, wearing a safety vest. He lives in a government-subsidized apartment ten minutes away from the Shanghai Gigafactory. When he's not working on the plant, he carpools to work. During his tenure at the plant, Zhu said he has slept on the floor during crises.

Tom Zhu was born in China. Before joining Tesla, he worked for a project management consulting firm, which he founded in 2005 with classmates from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Later, Tom Zhu moved to New Zealand to study. Upon graduation, he worked as a project manager at a company in China.

Zhu is one of the few Tesla employees who still wear the company's logo fleece jacket and often has a "no fuss" demeanor. While he's had little exposure to the international media, he's been rumored to be groomed for a more prominent role.