Tesla recently awarded Senior Vice President of Automotive, Tom Zhu, with over 520,000 stock options, a move that ties a significant portion of his compensation to the company’s long-term performance. This generous equity award was disclosed in a recent regulatory filing by the electric vehicle maker.
The award, as detailed in a Form 4 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, consists of 520,021 stock options with an exercise price of $435.80 per share. Zhu will not fully vest these options until March 5, 2031, meaning he must remain at Tesla for more than five years to realize the full benefit of the award. Given Tesla’s current stock price of around $445 to $450 per share, Zhu will only see gains in his equity award if the stock price experiences a significant rise over the years.
Despite this, Zhu’s stock award is already valued at over $230 million at today’s prices. If Tesla reaches the market cap targets outlined in Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award, Zhu could potentially become a billionaire solely from this equity award.
Zhu, who joined Tesla in April 2014, initially led the company’s Supercharger rollout in China before taking on the leadership of Tesla’s China business later that year. He played a crucial role in Tesla’s localization efforts in China, expanding retail and service networks, and overseeing the development of Gigafactory Shanghai. His efforts were instrumental in making China one of Tesla’s key markets and production hubs.
In 2023, Zhu was promoted to Senior Vice President of Automotive, becoming one of Tesla’s core global executives and expanding his influence beyond China. Known as the company’s problem solver, Zhu was tasked by Elon Musk to help ramp up vehicle production at Giga Texas.
Tesla’s decision to award Zhu with stock options signifies the company’s commitment to retaining and rewarding top talent as it embarks on its most ambitious phase yet. With Elon Musk’s vision for Tesla to become the world’s largest company by market cap and achieve unprecedented production levels, Zhu’s expertise and problem-solving skills will be invaluable in driving the company’s growth.
Overall, Tesla’s strategic move to secure its top talent through equity incentives reflects its determination to succeed in the rapidly evolving automotive industry.