Published - January 3, 2023 @ 12:40 PM (EET)

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Head of Tesla Inc's China arm, Tom Zhu, has reportedly taken over responsibilities for sales, service, and deliveries in North America, citing people familiar with the matter.

Rumored to be the chosen successor of chief executive Elon Musk, Zhu and his Shanghai team have been traveling to Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) plants in California and Texas as Musk has recently been focused on his acquisition of Twitter. 

As of Tuesday, an internal posting of reporting lines reviewed by Reuters showed that Zhu's title of vice president for Greater China remains unchanged and that he also retained his responsibilities as Tesla's most senior executive for sales in the rest of Asia.

According to the Electrek website dedicated to news on electric transportation and sustainable energy, Zhu's reporting lines would keep Tesla's vehicle design and development separate while creating a deputy to Musk on the more near-term challenges of managing global sales and output.

The move makes Zhu the highest-profile executive at Tesla.  The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters.

WHY IT MATTERS

Under Zhu's management, Tesla's Shanghai plant rebounded strongly following strict and ongoing Covid lockdowns in China. 

On Monday, Tesla said it had delivered a record 405,278 vehicles in the fourth quarter, bringing the automaker close to its target of 50% production growth for 2022.

Still, deliveries for the quarter missed Wall Street estimates, down by around 13,000 to 22,000 units, according to data compiled by Refinitiv,  due to logistics issues, slowing demand, rising interest rates, and recession fears.  

In addition, Tesla's year-over-year delivery growth rate slowed significantly compared to its previous quarter.

NOW WHAT

The appointment of a global role comes when Musk has been distracted by his Twitter acquisition, and Tesla analysts and investors have urged action that would widen the senior executive bench and allow him to focus on Tesla.

Before the start of regular trading Tuesday, Tesla shares fell 3.7%.  In 2022, the stock fell 65%, its worst year since going public in 2010.