Elon Musk’s no.2 at Tesla goes back to China as the CEO isolates himself at the top
Elon Musk’s no.2 at Tesla, Tom Zhu, is going back to his responsibilities as VP of China as the CEO isolates himself at the top.
Zhu has long been the leader of Tesla’s operations in China and led the very successful Gigafactory Shanghai effort.
Gigafactory Shanghai quickly became Tesla’s best-performing manufacturing facility and to replicate the success in Texas, Musk made Zhu in charge of all Gigafactories back in late 2022.
However, we reported that Zhu was taking an even bigger role at Tesla as Musk was busy running several other companies and spending especially more time at his newly acquired Twitter.
We exclusively reported that Zhu was even made in charge of North American sales and became the de facto head of Tesla’s automotive business – second in command to Musk at Tesla.
He was elevated to the critical “leadership” at Tesla that need to reported their stock transaction to the SEC:
In recent months, Musk took over North American sale operations from Zhu, according to sources familiar with the matter.
As we reported during our podcast last Friday, several sources told Electrek that Tom Zhu was stepping down from his responsibilities with Tesla in North America.
Now, several media in China are confirming that Zhu is indeed coming back to China to lead Tesla’s operations there.
With several rounds of layoffs and executive departures over the last month, it is resulting in Elon Musk isolating himself at the top.
Tesla has to identify critical executives who need to report their stock holdings and transactions to the SEC. The automaker already had a limited official leadership for a company of its size, but even its limited bench was cut by 50% in just a month:
Electrek’s Take
I have talked before about a theory that Musk is cleaning house at Tesla at a time when his leadership is being challenged through his compensation package, which is sort of turning into a confidence vote.
With not as deep of a bench, Musk is making himself more critical at Tesla. At the same time, some of his fans have been pushing a narrative that he will leave Tesla if the shareholders don’t reapprove his compensation package.
The CEO claimed the contrary in the trial over the compensation package, but he has conveniently not denied the theory at this time.
Both Zhu and Baglino were seen as potential replacements for CEO or even potential new COO to support Musk.
Now, one of them is not at Tesla anymore and the other is going back to China.
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Remember HiPhi, the ultra-futuristic EV brand led by Human Horizons? It’s been over a year since the company went on a six-month hiatus after failing to find additional funding, but it has reportedly found a savior in a Lebanese investor called EV Electra. EV Electra is taking over a majority stake and plans to resume vehicle development and production in China immediately.
HiPhi was a radical EV marque founded by Chinese startup Human Horizons over five years ago. The startup wowed us early on with a production-ready version of its flagship model, the HiPhi Z GT, complete with automatic suicide doors and a robotic touchscreen that moves independently.
The Z was joined by two robot-centric EV models, the HiPhi X “Super SUV” and the HiPhi Y “LuxTech SUV,” The Z and X EVs were actually certified for sale in Europe while Human Horizons teased a fourth model – a carbon fiber hypercar called the HiPhi A.
In early 2024, HiPhi showed its EV models weren’t just about robotic arms and futuristic designs, but could actually perform. The HiPhi Z shone during a winter range test in total distance traveled on a single charge and had the lowest range loss compared to what its makers advertised.
Shortly thereafter, however, things went dark. During Chinese New Year, HiPhi announced a six-month shutdown while it searched for more funding. Human Horizons would fail in its search, resulting in the layoffs of most of its staff. That was over a year ago, but the lights at HiPhi’s Chinese manufacturing facility look like they’re about to be turned back on by a foreign financial backer with a cloudy history of its own.
EV Electra already has HiPhi models on its website
As reported by local Chinese media outlet 21jingi, multiple independent sources have stated that HiPhi has received an investment of $100 million from EV Electra, a Lebanese company founded in 2017 by Jihad Mohammad, claiming on its official website to be “the first electric car manufacturer in Lebanon and the Arab world.”
The reports appear accurate, as HiPhi’s three production models now appear on EV Electra’s website (pictured above). According to independent sources, EV Electra intends to help HiPhi maintain its previous production capacity of 150,000 units per year at its facility in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, China.
Furthermore, that facility has reportedly already begun the necessary environmental assessment to resume EV production. Former HiPhi employees who did not sign a voluntary resignation agreement are reportedly being invited back to the company, but they are expected to see a 20% pay cut.
As of May 2022, Jihad Mohammad is the legal representative for HiPhi. EV Electra Ltd. owns 69.8% of the brand, while Human Horizons maintains the remaining 30.2%.
EV Electra’s website is quite confusing as it states it has a presence in Canada, Italy, Germany, Turkey, and China, yet its locations page lists footprints in Montreal, Lebanon, and Sweden. In 2023, Swedish media accused EV Electra of passing images of other OEMs’ vehicles off as its own, including the Skywell ET5, the K-1 Attack Rise, and SP:01 from Detroit Electric.
Per its website, EV Electra currently offers four very different models, which are built in Italy, specifically for Lebanon, I believe? This company is unique and confusing, to say the least. Hopefully, HiPhi has found a savior in EV Electra in a deal that works out for both parties. I’m not optimistic at this point.
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In a “watershed moment,” BYD outsold Tesla in Europe after EV registrations surged over 350% in April. With its top-selling electric car launching this week, this could be just the start.
BYD expands in Europe as EV registrations rise in April
After crushing the competition in China, BYD is now becoming a global phenomenon. Last month, it outsold Tesla for the first time in Europe as several new EV models hit the market.
According to new data from Jato Dynamics, BYD’s registrations in Europe increased by 359% in April compared to last year.
Although those numbers include EV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models, even if you look at purely electric registrations, it’s clear that BYD is quickly outpacing the competition.
BYD registered 7,231 EV models in Europe last month, an increase of 169% compared to April 2024. On the other hand, Tesla registered 7,165 EVs in April, down 49% from last year.
“Although the difference between the two brands’ monthly sales totals may be small, the implications are enormous,” Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, explained. Munoz called it “a watershed moment for Europe’s car market.”
BYD officially began selling vehicles in Europe in late 2022, while Tesla has led the European electric vehicle market for years.
Last month, the top registered EVs in Europe included the Skoda Elroq (1), Volkswagen’s ID.3 (2), ID.7 (3), ID.4 (4), and the Kia EV3 (5).
Tesla’s Model Y was the ninth most registered EV in April, with 4,495 registrations, down 53% from last year. The Model 3 came in at number 24, with 2,604 registrations, down 41%. No BYD models placed in the top 25.
Just yesterday, BYD launched what could be its biggest hit so far in Europe, the Dolphin Surf. The Dolphin Surf is the European version of BYD’s best-selling EV, the Seagull, which is sold for under $10,000 in China.
The compact electric city car starts at 19,990 euros ($22,700), undercutting top-sellers including the VW ID.3, which starts at around 30,000 euros ($34,000).
The Dolphin Surf is the latest to join BYD’s rapidly expanding European EV lineup, which now includes a full lineup of premium models (Denzda), ultra-luxury (Yangwang), SUVs, sedans, and entry-level vehicles.
Electrek’s Take
To be fair, Tesla is still ahead of BYD in Europe by a wide margin through the first four months of 2025. However, BYD will likely see more demand with new vehicles rolling out throughout the year.
S&P Global Mobility expects BYD to more than double its sales in Europe in 2025 to around 186,000 units. By the end of the decade, BYD’s volume in Europe could reach around 400,000.
While Tesla faces slower sales over CEO Elon Musk’s political stunts and support for US President Donald Trump, BYD is taking advantage. And it’s not just in Europe.
Earlier this month, BYD had its best sales week of the year in China, with nearly 68,000 registrations from May 5 to May 11. Tesla had just over 3,000 registrations during the same week.
Will BYD continue gaining ground on Tesla and other global automakers with new vehicles rolling out? Let us know your thoughts below.
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