On May 6, according to netizens, Zhu Xiaotong resigned from his management positions in the European Union and North America (previously Zhu Xiaotong was in charge of the U.S. factory and sales in North America and Europe), and Tesla reinstated Zhu Xiaotong's position as senior vice president of China. At the same time, Tesla replaced the original vice president and senior vice president with a large number of directors and senior directors. As the most popular Chinese executive around Musk, Zhu Xiaotong was promoted from the president of Tesla Greater China to the senior vice president of Tesla's automobile business at the beginning of last year, and went to the United States to work, and his status in Tesla is second only to Musk. At present, Tesla has not officially responded to Zhu Xiaotong's related news, and the official news shall prevail.
In January 2023, an internal Tesla announcement revealed that Tesla's Greater China CEO Zhu Xiaotong had been promoted to head the company's U.S. factory, as well as sales operations in North America and Europe. He will also continue to serve as Tesla's top executive responsible for sales in China and the rest of Asia. The move makes Zhu Xiaotong the most high-profile executive at Tesla after Elon Musk, and will be responsible for deliveries in all of Tesla's major markets, as well as all production outside of Tesla's German factory.
According to public information, Zhu Xiaotong joined Tesla Motors in April 2014 as the director of Tesla's China Supercharger project. In December 2014, Wu Bixuan, Tesla's global vice president and president of China, resigned, and Zhu Xiaotong, director of the Supercharger project, took over. Subsequently, during his tenure as President of China, Zhu Xiaotong led a series of local Tesla products in China, including the opening of the experience center, the dissemination of new vehicles in China, and the construction of the Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai. It can be said that Tesla was able to achieve strong business performance in Chinese mainland in a short period of time and has a close relationship with Zhu Xiaotong. At present, one of Tesla's most important businesses, FSD's entry into China has reached a critical stage, and Zhu Xiaotong's return at this time cannot be ruled out to accelerate the possibility of FSD landing in China.