The forum, hosted by Tom Zhu, Tesla’s top automotive executive, was designed to get the company’s global leadership team on the same page on best practices and the growing threat of electric vehicle manufacturers in China.

But Afshar, Musk’s former project manager and confidant, was not a manufacturing executive at the time. In fact, it wasn’t even clear to many that he was employed at Tesla, people familiar with the events said.

At Tesla, many people hadn’t seen him since 2022, when he joined two of Musk’s other companies after an internal investigation raised questions about his role in a purchase of suspicious materials at the Tesla factory. Texas, according to people familiar with the events.

Afshar’s presence at the Shanghai forum was a sign of things to come. In the months since, the man known at Tesla as Musk’s fixer has risen through the ranks to become one of the electric car maker’s most powerful executives.

He returned to Giga Texas, Tesla’s Austin headquarters, in early 2024 as Musk restructured his management team and laid off more than 10% of the company, people familiar with the matter said.

This fall, Afshar, 37, was officially promoted to vice president, overseeing vehicle sales and manufacturing in North America and Europe, two regions previously overseen by Zhu, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier.

Afshar, Tesla and Musk did not respond to requests for comment.

A Californian who joined Tesla seven years ago, Afshar once ran Tesla’s CEO’s office and oversaw construction of Tesla’s 10 million square foot factory in Texas. He was seen by employees internally as a proxy for Musk and made decisions on the ground, while his boss traveled the world and split his time between Tesla, his rocket company SpaceX and other startups.

“I focus on where the problem is, so a lot of firefighting,” Afshar said at a 2019 alumni event at the University of California, Irvine. “If there’s a problem, that’s where I am. Usually when people see me, they’re not always happy because that means there’s a problem.”

The “kingmaker”

His promotion signals Musk’s renewed focus on the auto sector at a time when profitability and sales are under pressure, and Tesla is devoting more resources to robotics and AI, a transition Musk sees as essential for the future of the company. It also reshapes Tesla’s leadership team, after the top brass was shaken up this spring with the departure of several high-ranking executives.

Over the years and at his various stops, his colleagues have nicknamed him many things – the “kingmaker,” the “messenger” and the “Musk whisperer” – to signify his closeness to the boss.

Within Tesla, he is known for his ability to blend into Musk’s mind and translate the mercurial billionaire’s wants and needs to other members of Tesla’s leadership team. Like Musk, Afshar also slept in the factory and prioritizes his work over his personal life.

“Every once in a while I miss a few birthdays,” he said at the UC Irvine alumni event.

Afshar has been Musk’s right-hand man for several years and is seen by employees as capable of influencing Musk’s decisions and often acting on his behalf.

Some colleagues have leaned on Afshar for tactical help, showing him slides or presentations before meeting with Musk, or for feedback on the CEO’s mood, those who have worked with Afshar say.

Afshar grew up near Los Angeles and graduated from the University of California, Irvine, where he studied biomedical engineering. While in college, he worked as a ski instructor in Mammoth, California, and decided to follow in his father’s footsteps to become a professional engineer. After graduating, he joined the medical device company St. Jude Medical, which was later acquired by Abbott Laboratories.

Then, in 2017, Afshar joined Tesla’s CEO’s office, a group focused on Musk’s needs, led by his longtime assistant, Sam Teller.

A cowboy emoji

Musk deployed Afshar where needed, giving him a variety of roles from building cars to managing the energy team and managing sales, service and delivery.

When Teller left in 2019, Afshar rose through the ranks, making frequent trips to China while Tesla built its Shanghai factory.

In 2020, Afshar was named senior director of Giga Texas, identifying the position on his LinkedIn page with a cowboy emoji.

To build the factory quickly, Afshar had to follow the same schedule as his boss Musk: starting later in the day and working late into the night. When construction of the factory began, Afshar moved into one of the trailers converted into offices on site, said a person who worked with him.

Sometimes in his companies, Musk gets deeply involved in decision-making, especially when it comes to spending. Initially, during Project Giga Texas, Musk had a rule that he had to personally approve every purchase order over $25,000. But as Musk moved on to other work, that responsibility shifted to Afshar, people familiar with the process said.

By summer 2022, Giga Texas was largely complete. The giant building had large glass windows made of sheets measuring 32.5 feet high, 9.5 feet wide and 4 inches thick. Each panel cost approximately $400,000 and orders took more than 30 weeks.

Around that time, a multimillion-dollar order for specialty glass — the type of large-format panels used on building facades — sparked concern among some employees about the use of those materials, the Wall previously reported Street Journal.

An internal investigation has raised questions about Afshar’s role in the order, the sources said. Shortly afterward, Afshar withdrew from daily life at Tesla, and news of the internal investigation spread throughout the company.

The investigation was linked to a structure called Project 42, a spectacular glass-walled building that was discussed internally as a home for Musk, the Journal reported. The Justice Department has opened its own investigation into the matter.

Afshar did not respond to the Journal’s inquiries about the glass structure, nor did Musk or his representatives. On X, Musk said he wasn’t building a glass house.

Back at Tesla

After leaving Tesla in 2022, Afshar joined SpaceX, taking the title of Vice President of Starship Production, reporting directly to Musk. Soon after, Afshar joined Twitter, where he joined Musk’s transition team after the social media site was acquired in October of that year.

The platform’s chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, also turned to Afshar for advice on how to work with Musk after she was tapped for the role in May 2023, according to a person familiar with the events.

At the start of 2024, Musk had a new plan for Tesla. A long-awaited $25,000 car known as the “Model 2” has been put on hold. Instead, Tesla teams have turned their attention to plans for a new, purpose-built robotaxi, known as Cybercab.

Afshar reappeared at Tesla headquarters before mass layoffs at Tesla in April, people familiar with the events said. Around the same time, Zhu returned to China.

In October, days after Tesla’s big event to showcase Musk’s vision for autonomous vehicles, SpaceX landed its Starship booster for the first time, a major achievement.

Behind the scenes, Musk prepared for a tour of key U.S. states where he planned to campaign for former President Donald Trump. Afshar wrote an article on X celebrating the success of both companies – a clear message of support for his boss.

“Starship + Robotaxi + Optimus,” Afshar wrote in an emoji-filled post. “It’s hard to top a week like this!”

Write to Becky Peterson at [email protected]