Franz von Holzhausen (born May 10, 1968) is an American vehicle designer. Since 2008, he has been in charge of design at

Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles (electric cars and trucks), battery energy storage from home to grid- ...

He designed the

Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S is a Battery electric vehicle, battery-powered liftback car serving as the flagship model of Tesla, Inc. The Model S features a dual-motor, all-wheel drive layout, although earlier versions of the Model S featured a rear-moto ...

Model 3 The Tesla Model 3 is a Compact executive car, compact executive Sedan (car), sedan that is Battery electric vehicle, battery powered and produced by Tesla, Inc., Tesla. Limited production of the Model 3 began in mid-2017, with the first produ ...

, Model X, Model Y, and the unveiled but not-yet-released

Cybertruck The Tesla Cybertruck is an upcoming battery electric light-duty truck announced by Tesla, Inc. in 2019. Three models have been announced, with EPA range estimates of and an estimated time of 2.9–6.5 seconds, depending on the model. Th ...

Semi SEMI is an industry association comprising companies involved in the electronics design and manufacturing supply chain. They provide equipment, materials and services for the manufacture of semiconductors, photovoltaic panels, LED and flat panel ...

, and second-generation Tesla Roadster. Prior to Tesla, he worked in design at Mazda, General Motors, and Volkswagen.

Career

In 1992, Holzhausen started his career with

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

, where he worked on the designs for the Microbus and the

New Beetle The Volkswagen New Beetle is a compact car, introduced by Volkswagen in 1997, drawing heavy inspiration from the exterior design of the original Beetle. Unlike the original Beetle, the New Beetle has its engine in the front, driving the fron ...

concept project, known as "Concept One," under design lead

J Mays J Mays is an American industrial designer who served as Group Vice President of Global Design and Chief Creative Officer at Ford Motor Company, and is now Chief Design Officer at Whirlpool. His name is simply "J", named after his grandfather, S ...

. In 2000, he moved to

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

as a design manager where he worked on the

Saturn Sky The Saturn Sky is a roadster that was produced by Saturn, and was initially released in the first quarter of 2006 as a 2007 model. It uses the ''Kappa'' automobile platform shared with the Pontiac Solstice. The Sky concept was shown at the 2005 ...

and

Pontiac Solstice The Pontiac Solstice is a sports car that was produced by Pontiac. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the Solstice roadster began production in Wilmington, Delaware, starting in mid-2005 for the 2006 model year. It ...

. In 2005, he took a role at

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

, where he was chief of design. He led the designs of the

Mazda Kabura The Mazda Kabura is a concept car shown by the Japanese manufacturer Mazda in 2006. Concept overview The Kabura, introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, is a sport compact which shows styling themes and technologies which ...

concept car that debuted at the 2006

North American International Auto Show The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), also known as the Detroit Auto Show as of 2022 and prior to NAIAS, is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., at Huntington Place. The show was held in January from 1989 to 2019. ...

and of the

Mazda Furai The was a concept car revealed on 27 December 2007 and designed by Swift Engineering and manufactured by Mazda. A teaser image of the vehicle was released on 11 December 2007. The Furai officially debuted at the North American International Auto ...

concept car that was unveiled at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, both in Detroit. Tesla Cybertruck damaged window

In 2008, he went to work for Tesla. He is known for designing Tesla vehicles, including the Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Semi, and the unveiled but not-yet-released Cybertruck, and second-generation Tesla Roadster.

Personal life

Franz von Holzhausen is married to Vicki von Holzhausen, a designer who runs the "" fashion label focused on

vegan leather Artificial leather, also called synthetic leather, is a material intended to substitute for leather in upholstery, clothing, footwear, and other uses where a leather-like finish is desired but the actual material is cost prohibitive or unsuitab ...

products that are made from plant-based materials.

References

External links

* 1968 births Living people American people of German descent American automobile designers General Motors designers Volkswagen Group designers Mazda Tesla, Inc. people Native American people {{automobile-bio-stub