![]() ![]() He was also tasked with setting the design aesthetic for the entire Tesla brand through the Model S. The final product – the Model S – has around 250 original patents. Von Holzhausen’s initial task at Tesla was an unprecedented one: design an electric car from scratch. Von Holzhausen was sold on the company’s commitment to an eco-friendly mission after he toured the Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters with Musk-he’s been with Tesla ever since. Word is that Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, personally recruited Von Holzhausen to Tesla from Mazda back in 2008. In 2013 he told German car site : “der i3 ist wie ein IKEA-Möbelstück,” which translates to the BMW i3 (a Model S competitor) is like a piece of furniture from IKEA. He’s fluent enough in Deutsch to diss Tesla rival BMW in the car maker’s native tongue. That’s probably where he picked up German. ![]() Von Holzhausen spent a good chunk of his college years in Switzerland, according to a 2010 interview. Here’s what we do know about Von Holzhausen:ĭespite the name, he’s not German, but he does have an international bent. He’s only published two tweets ever and there’s no salary or net worth information available about him in the public domain (predictably, Tesla said he was not available to be interviewed for this piece). His Wikipedia page contains fewer than 150 words, he has done few major press interviews (he spoke at SXSW in February, though we couldn’t find any video of the event). As investors await the report, we thought we'd take a look at the famous car's not-so-famous designer.ĭespite the fact that he heads up design for such a buzzed-about car company, little is known about Von Holzhausen. Tesla delivered 10,030 cars in Q1 of 2015, and they're expected to relase Q2 numbers on Wednesday. This means the 47-year-old is the brains behind the Tesla Model S, a car that’s received a ton of industry praise, including the 2013 Motor Trend car of the year, Automobile magazine’s car of the year in 2012, and Consumer Report’s top scoring car ever in 2013. For more information, visit Von Holzhausen is chief designer of Tesla Motors, the high-end electric car company that’s been called “ the Apple of the auto industry." With a 0 to 60 mph acceleration of 3.9 seconds, a 14,000 rpm redline, and the fastest top gear acceleration of any production car tested by Car & Driver magazine in 2007, the Tesla Roadster is unique in providing super car performance, zero emissions and extraordinary efficiency. The Tesla Roadster is the only highway capable production electric car of any kind for sale in the United States. safety, environmental and durability standards. Tesla Motors develops and manufactures electric vehicles with exceptional design, performance and efficiency, while conforming to all U.S. Earlier this week, Tesla announced that Deepak Ahuja, a former Ford finance executive, joined Tesla as Chief Financial Officer. In July, Tesla announced the appointment of Mike Donoughe, a former VP engineering from Chyrsler LLC, as EVP Vehicle Engineering and Manufacturing. Tesla will capture this through good design and engineering.”įranz von Holzhausen is the third recent addition of auto industry veterans to the Tesla Motors management team. There is a new hunger in the air for automotive design and looking to where automobiles are going in the future. “Tesla is changing the paradigm,” said Franz “we’re going to turn the world on its ear and create high demand through design. Franz is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design. Previously, he served as design manager for General Motors where he worked on the concept and production design of the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Skye, among other projects. In his previous role, Franz led the design and development of concept and production cars for Mazda North America, including the acclaimed Nagare and Furai concept cars. Franz is joining Tesla with the mission to build the world’s leading automotive design studio,” said Elon. Those three in combination are what will make us a great company. “Tesla is about stunning design, combined with breakthrough technology and fantastic service. In addition to driving the design direction of Tesla Motors in the short term, Franz is charged with building a world class design competency at Tesla Motors.įranz will report to Elon Musk, Chairman and Product Architect of Tesla Motors. SAN CARLOS, CA– Franz von Holzhausen, former Director of Design for Mazda North America, has joined Tesla Motors as Chief Designer.
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