Tesla has responded to a report from the Wall Street Journal, which claimed that the company’s board was seeking a new CEO to replace Elon Musk, by declaring the assertion as “absolutely false” on Musk’s social platform, X.
The WSJ report suggested that about a month ago, Tesla’s board began the process of searching for Musk’s successor, engaging with several executive search firms and narrowing it down to one to spearhead the effort.
Simultaneously, the board allegedly advised Musk to devote more time to Tesla rather than focusing on DOGE, and to make that public. In an earnings call last week, Musk committed to doing so, stating that starting in May he would be dedicating significantly more time to the company. Tesla has experienced declining sales, decreasing revenue, and a serious brand crisis since Musk became more involved in political affairs with Donald Trump and pushed for cuts in government funding. However, there may be potential benefits for Tesla and Musk’s other ventures as a result of this work.
Tesla swiftly countered the Journal’s claims, with board chair Robyn Denholm stating on X that the directors are “highly confident” in Musk’s leadership. She denied that a CEO search was underway and noted that this information was shared with the media before the article’s publication. The WSJ has not amended its story or responded to Denholm’s comments, although it did mention in its original report that it sought Musk’s input and received no response.
In a subsequent tweet, Musk expressed his views, criticizing the paper for an “EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS” and suggested that the publication had received a “clear denial prior to release.”
