Tom Zhu (Chinese name: Zhu Xiaotong) is a core executive at Tesla, serving as Senior Vice President of Automotive and widely regarded as one of Elon Musk’s closest confidants. 1. “Emails with Dozens of Photos Daily” This is a direct quote from Elon Musk during Tesla’s Q1 2019 earnings call: “The progress at the Shanghai factory is evidence of the exceptional execution capability of the local team. I receive daily emails from Tom Zhu, each containing about a dozen photos showing the day’s progress.” During the Shanghai Gigafactory’s rapid construction—from muddy ground to production in just ten months—Tom Zhu took and sent photos of the site to Musk every morning (U.S. pre-dawn time). Musk greatly appreciated these emails, and later remarked, “Tom Zhu is almost the only Chinese executive who perfectly executes exactly what I want.” Walter Isaacson mentions Tom Zhu alongside Drew Baglino and Lars Moravy as one of Tesla’s key figures in podcasts such as Lex Fridman’s. When Musk said, “Building a team is the hardest thing,” Zhu was among the names he specifically cited. 2. “The Person Burning the 3 a.m. Oil” During China’s COVID-19 lockdowns in 2022, when the Shanghai factory faced potential shutdown, Tom Zhu stayed on-site with his team, living and working inside the facility to maintain closed-loop production. Musk later said in an interview: “There are people in China who never leave their factories—even at 3 a.m., they keep the lights on.” The subject of this remark was Tom Zhu and his team. Musk himself had once slept at the factory during the Model 3 production hell, and thus deeply trusted those who shared this same work ethic. Summary While Walter Isaacson’s book does not feature a dedicated chapter on Tom Zhu, he is portrayed as one of Musk’s most trusted “execution-focused” leaders. • The relentless habit of sending daily site photos • The hardcore work ethic of sleeping at the factory • The unmatched ability to match Musk’s desired pace These three traits form the core anecdotes that bind Tom Zhu and Elon Musk together.