Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reportedly requested Tom Zhu, president of Tesla China, to assist in overseeing the automaker’s new Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, according to Electrek.
Tom Zhu to oversee production ramp-up at Giga Texas
Tom Zhu started working for Tesla in 2014 and is currently in charge of the company’s operations in the Asia Pacific region. Now, reports claim that he is now in Austin with members of his engineering team from China to help supervise the production ramp-up at Giga Texas.
Elon Musk has tapped a longtime Tesla Inc. executive in China who oversaw construction of the Shanghai gigfactory to help run the electric carmaker’s newest plant in Austin, Texas, people familiar with the matter said.
Bloomberg
Recent reports, including Tom Zhu’s advancement to the CEO position, indicate how the current Tesla CEO seems to rely on his expertise in this field.
However, the report did not clarify whether Zhu would go back to China to continue his duties or if he would permanently stay in Giga Texas.
Giga Texas’ targets
In Q1 2023, Tesla intends to dramatically increase production output at the Giga Texas, with a target of 75,000 Model Ys produced.
The Model Y and the upcoming Tesla Cybertruck are produced at the Giga Texas, which opened earlier this year. The Gigafactory is producing 2,000 units per week, as per the automaker. Furthermore, it reported the production of the 20,000th Model Y in October.
Despite all these numbers, Tesla reportedly sent 200 engineers from the Gigafactory Shanghai to the Fremont factory in November to further boost production.
Having said all that, it seems that Tesla is attempting to have its US factories have the same level of success as the Gigafactory Shanghai did.
The current vice president of global operations at Tesla appears to be someone on whom CEO Elon Musk has tremendous trust and reliance. Nonetheless, it would not be too bad, given that Tom Zhu is a management prodigy with impressive expertise in the automotive sector.
