A person born in the 1980s from Northeast China made one billion yuan from Elon Musk.
Tom Zhu is now realizing his golden era at Tesla.
This post - 80s guy (Tom Zhu) born in Shenyang was originally a middle - level manager in charge of China's charging pile network construction. Now, he has become Elon Musk's most trusted "general in wartime" and holds astonishing wealth chips in his hands.
In just three years, as the global manufacturing head of Tesla, through exercising stock options and share sales, he has cashed out over $8.5 million from Musk and Tesla. He also holds stocks worth over $20 million (approximately 150 million RMB) and an equity incentive with a potential future value of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Ironically, just when Musk said on X, "If they don't close their positions before Tesla achieves large - scale autonomous driving, they will be completely crushed," his right - hand men, including Tom Zhu, were cashing out on a large scale. Their act of "securing profits" stands in sharp contrast to the founder's bold bet on the future.
Behind this is not just a story of an individual getting rich overnight. It also reflects the reality that Tesla is under performance pressure, its executives are collectively reducing their shareholdings, and shareholders' confidence is fluctuating. It also outlines Musk's helplessness in trying to tie up executives with equity incentives but failing to stop them from cashing out.
There is a "long - term plan" hidden in this helplessness. Musk always says that the Earth will inevitably face "survival risks" one day, such as climate problems and resource depletion. Therefore, "sending humans to settle on Mars" is his great goal.
To achieve this goal, none of the companies under his control operates in isolation. Instead, they are like a set of connected beads, forming a "Mars closed - loop system": SpaceX specializes in building starships, which are equivalent to future "Mars shuttles" responsible for transporting people and supplies there; Starlink develops satellite Internet, serving as the "inter - planetary communicator" for future communication between Mars and Earth; and the former SolarCity (now merged into Tesla Energy) focuses on solar energy, acting as a "space power bank" that provides clean energy both on Earth and Mars.
In the field of AI, which serves as the "intelligent brain" of the Mars project, Musk also makes his companies work in tandem. On August 25th, xAI, together with Musk's social platform X (formerly Twitter), sued OpenAI and Apple for illegal collusion to obstruct competition, accusing them of suppressing innovation through app - store favoritism and resource monopolization. This move is not only to safeguard the development space for AI products like Grok but also to reserve underlying technologies free from monopoly constraints for Tesla's autonomous driving and SpaceX's starship control systems, making AI a crucial cog in the closed - loop system.
And what about Tesla? It is the "key" in this plan. By selling electric vehicles and developing energy storage solutions, Tesla is establishing a zero - carbon system on Earth. This can not only slow down the deterioration of the Earth's environment, buying more time for "Mars migration," but also generate profits from car sales to support SpaceX's costly space projects. Meanwhile, it can accumulate technologies such as battery and AI that will be useful on Mars.
Because Musk has his sights set on such a distant "space goal," he is particularly persistent about Tesla's "long - term value." However, for Tom Zhu and others, converting their stocks into real money is a more practical choice.
In this battle between money and belief, Tom Zhu cashed out early, while Musk continues to bet on the future. Where exactly is Tesla headed?
From a Shenyang lad to Musk's right - hand man
He achieved a ten - year rise to become the global manufacturing head.
At a public event in early 2023, Elon Musk casually said, "I've found my successor." At that time, no one thought that this joking remark referred to a Chinese executive.
As the power dynamics within Tesla changed later, the answer became clearer. Tom Zhu from Shenyang, China, has long entered Musk's core decision - making circle through his successive "fire - fighting" performances.
Tom Zhu was born in Shenyang in 1980. He went to the University of Auckland in New Zealand to study business administration during his college years. When he joined Tesla in 2014, he was just a middle - level manager in charge of China's Supercharger project.
That year, Tesla was just starting out in China. The factory had not been established yet, and the brand was regarded as a "luxury toy." However, with his outstanding execution ability, Tom Zhu built a wide - spread Supercharger network across major Chinese cities in just one year. He became the "pioneer" for Tesla's expansion in China, laying a crucial foundation for his career at Tesla.
What really impressed Musk was his performance during the fight against the pandemic at the Shanghai factory in 2020. During the COVID - 19 lockdown, the factory was on the verge of shutting down. Tom Zhu lived and worked at the factory, leading the closed - loop production and managing to maintain the production capacity.
Musk mentioned this experience several times later, saying, "If the Shanghai factory hadn't persevered, Tesla's delivery volume would have collapsed." Since then, this Chinese executive has gradually entered Musk's inner circle and become a key figure in his eyes, capable of handling tough challenges.
At the end of 2022, Tesla faced another production capacity crisis. When the production capacity at the Texas Gigafactory failed to meet expectations, Musk urgently summoned Tom Zhu to the United States to "put out the fire." After his arrival, Tom Zhu quickly streamlined the production process and gradually restored the production capacity. This cross - ocean support further solidified his position in Musk's mind.
In April 2023, Tom Zhu was officially promoted to the senior vice - president of Tesla's automotive business, taking full charge of global manufacturing and Asian sales. He became the second - most powerful person after Musk. A technical guy from Shenyang has transformed into the global manufacturing head of the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer and the de - facto leader of Tesla in China.
More notably, in July 2025, Musk suddenly fired Omid Afshar, the vice - president of manufacturing and operations who had served for eight years and was in charge of sales and manufacturing in Europe and the United States. He took over the sales in the European and American markets himself. Afshar's departure became an opportunity for Tom Zhu to expand his responsibilities. Tom Zhu not only continued to oversee the Asian sales business but also took over the core authority of global manufacturing.
Overnight, this "post - 80s executive" gained wide recognition. Industry insiders interpreted this as Tesla's move to "integrate global production and operations" and further emphasize the importance of the Asian market. With the significant increase in the resources and influence at his disposal, Tom Zhu has more chips for future wealth realization.
As his position rose, Tom Zhu's wealth also skyrocketed.
In May 2023, Tesla filed a document with the SEC, revealing that Tom Zhu had received an equity incentive plan totaling 339,060 shares, including 2,775 incentive stocks and 336,285 stock options. These shares will vest over 48 months, with 1/48 vesting each month starting from May 2023, and are expected to be fully owned by April 2027.
Based on the then stock price of approximately $184 per share, this reward was worth about $62.54 million (approximately 443 million RMB), instantly catapulting Tom Zhu into the "multi - million - dollar club" and making him one of the few non - founder "billionaire candidates" in Silicon Valley.
Calculated based on the current Tesla stock price (approximately $230), this unvested equity incentive already has a potential value close to $780 million (approximately 5.6 billion RMB) - a yet - to - be - realized "gold mine" that will continue to add to his wealth as long as he doesn't leave the company before 2027.
This reward design is quite similar to Musk's famous "ten - year stock option plan" in 2018: Musk obtained stock options based on market - value targets, while Tom Zhu will gradually realize the value through time and performance.
The difference is that Musk is betting on a sky - high stake of $56 billion, while Tom Zhu is betting on the future of a professional manager.
Making tens of millions in three years, frequent share sales draw attention
Compared with future incentives, the real money in hand is more tangible.
According to SEC Form 4 documents and the latest disclosures, Tom Zhu has been accumulating wealth through exercising stock options and share sales since 2021, with more frequent operations between 2023 and 2025, forming a clear pattern of cashing out:
On June 14th, July 3rd, August 1st, and September 1st, 2023, Tom Zhu regularly sold 2,500 shares each month at prices ranging from $256 to $279. In September, he additionally sold 1,064 shares to further realize his gains.
In 2024: On March 6th, June 6th, and September 5th, after the RSU (Restricted Stock Unit) lock - up period expired, he sold 687 shares, 650 shares, and 297 shares respectively, mainly for withholding tax payments, which is a common practice for executives' shareholdings.
Image/SEC Tesla 2025.6.12 Form 4
In 2025: On June 12th, he exercised his options and sold 15,000 shares in one go. The exercise price was only $20.57, while the market price was as high as $323.81, resulting in a total cash - out of approximately $4.857 million and a net profit of about $4.55 million.
As of August 2025, Tom Zhu had sold approximately 29,539 Tesla shares in total, cashing out about $8.5 million. Meanwhile, he still holds 67,600 shares, worth approximately $21.5 million (approximately 150 million RMB).
This means that in just three years, he has earned nearly $30 million (approximately 210 million RMB) from Tesla. If we add the unvested 339,060 - share equity incentive (with a potential value of $780 million), the total wealth this Chinese executive has "earned" from Musk and Tesla has exceeded one billion RMB.
Securities analysts believe that although Tom Zhu's share - selling actions have attracted market attention, it is just a normal operation for him to "continuously manage his personal shareholdings."
However, judging from the proportion of share sales, industry insiders estimate that he has been cashing out quite frequently since 2023. Especially the one - time sale of 15,000 shares in June 2025, which cashed out nearly $4.86 million in a single transaction, has drawn the market's focus on the executives' judgment of the company's future. Does a significant share - sale by the vice - president indicate a lack of confidence in the company's future?
Tom Zhu's wealth story not only reflects his personal ability but also epitomizes Musk's talent - employment logic.
Musk always likes "generals in wartime." During the lockdown crisis at the Shanghai factory, Tom Zhu demonstrated his iron - willed execution ability, and Musk did not hesitate to entrust him with the responsibility of global manufacturing. When the production capacity at the Texas factory encountered setbacks, he immediately summoned Tom Zhu to the United States for support. Even after firing the long - serving Omid Afshar, he gave more global manufacturing authority to Tom Zhu. This kind of trust, sending him wherever he is needed, is Musk's way of recognizing his core executives.
Meanwhile, Musk is also willing to use equity incentives to "tie up" the loyalty of his core executives. For Musk, the risk of executive turnover always exists, but equity rewards can at least tie them to the company "financially," ensuring the stability of key positions. However, this logic also has side effects: Tom Zhu and other executives' share - cashing actions inevitably arouse market suspicion about the company's future.
In response to the doubts, Musk also made a statement. In mid - August 2025, after the news of Tom Zhu's large - scale share - cashing spread, Musk posted on X, showing the current short - selling list of Tesla and issuing a stern warning: "Before Tesla achieves large - scale autonomous driving, those short - sellers who don't close their positions will surely lose everything." Every word of this statement conveys strong confidence: Musk firmly believes that once Tesla achieves "large - scale autonomous driving," the stock price will skyrocket, and all investors who bet against Tesla will "go bankrupt."
Tesla's "two - sided situation"
Tom Zhu is not the only one "cashing out."
From 2024 to 2025, Tesla's executives and directors launched an unprecedented "collective share - cashing wave." This phenomenon of "securing profits" not only reflects the executives' concern for personal wealth security - converting equity into cash has become a prudent choice in the context of increasing market volatility - but also exposes the uncertainty of Tesla's growth in the current market environment, making the core management cautious about the short - term future.
According to statistics from Electrek and Tesla's 2025 proxy statement (as of June 2025), except for Musk himself, the shareholdings of the core management have generally decreased significantly.
The chief financial officer, Vaibhav Taneja, reduced his shareholding from 1.06 million to 830,000 shares, selling approximately 230,000 shares in two years and cashing out about $18.6 million;
The former chief technology officer, Andrew Baglino, saw his shareholding plummet from 1.21 million to 520,000 shares, selling about 700,000 shares and cashing out approximately $11.3 million;
Robyn Denholm, the chairperson of the board of directors, saw her shareholding drop sharply from 1.49 million to 85,000 shares, selling about 450,000 shares in two years, with a cumulative cash - out of up to $150 million - $230 million, making her one of the executives with the highest cash - out amounts;
Meanwhile, Kimbal Musk, a board member and Musk's younger brother, reduced his shareholding from 1.95 million to 1.46 million shares, selling nearly 490,000 shares and cashing out about $42 million;
Board member James Murdoch also sold shares multiple times in the first half of 2025, selling about 145,000 shares and cashing out approximately $13 million.
Overall, these core figures sold more than 3.66 million Tesla shares in total in two years. Calculated based on the then stock price, the total cash - out amount was between $200 million and $230 million. According to Electrek's overall estimate, considering the stock - price conversion, the actual realized wealth may even be close to $2 billion. This collective action of "securing profits" has added more uncertainties to the turbulent Tesla.
Statistics show that except for Musk himself, almost all executives have reduced their shareholdings by more than 50% in the past two years. This phenomenon of "securing profits" not only reflects the executives' concern for personal wealth security - converting equity into cash has become a prudent choice in the context of increasing market volatility - but also exposes the uncertainty of Tesla's growth in the current market environment, making the core management cautious about the short - term future.
Behind the executives' share - cashing wave, Tesla's performance is in an awkward "two - sided" situation. The second - quarter financial report in