Tesla’s Senior Vice President Xiaotong Zhu (Tom Zhu) has sold more than 82% of his equity holdings in the company, according to regulatory filings. The divestment, which occurred between 2023 and 2024, has raised eyebrows among analysts and investors.
Zhu, who is considered one of Elon Musk’s closest allies within Tesla, cut his stake from over 81,000 shares to fewer than 15,000. The shares were sold at prices ranging between $174 and $323, filings revealed.
Market analysts called the move concerning, with Gordon Johnson of GLJ Research describing the sell-off as “alarming,” given Zhu’s central role in Tesla’s global operations.
Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk dismissed concerns and doubled down against critics. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk warned that short sellers would be “obliterated” once Tesla achieves full autonomy at scale.
Tesla’s stock has fallen nearly 13% year-to-date, significantly underperforming broader indices such as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, which recorded gains of nearly 10% and 13% respectively.
Despite market skepticism, Musk remains bullish, insisting that Tesla’s breakthroughs in autonomy will reshape the company’s future and silence critics.
