Tesla denies claims of Musk succession search
Tesla has denied reports that its board is seeking a replacement for chief executive Elon Musk, after a Wall Street Journal report claimed the company had began a search for its new chief executive, amid mounting concerns on his political entanglements.
In a post early Thursday on X, the social media owned by Musk, Tesla chair Robyn Denholm dismissed the claims in the report that the company had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search as “absolutely false”.
“The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead”, Denholm wrote. “This was communicated to the media before the report was published”.
DOGE days
The Journal report, citing unnamed sources, claimed the board had grown frustrated with the time Musk was spending in Washington, advising president Donald Trump and leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The denial follows growing investor unease over Musk’s political activism and divided attention, as Tesla battles a sharp drop in sales, a 71 per cent fall in quarterly profit, and a 30 per cent year-to-date slide in its stock price.
It has been confirmed that the former Trump darling will be stepping back from his role as “special government employee” in the coming weeks.
The White house press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s recent social media post recently confirmed: “Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete”
Musk, who also leads SpaceX, Neuralink and AI venture xAI, said last week he would be “allocating far more of my time to Tesla”.
Though Trump still praises Musk as a “patriot” and continues to tout his controversial DOGE initiative, frustration has grown behind the scenes of Musk’s unpredictability.
His rogue commentary, unvetted policy blasts on X, and a failed $5m effort to swing a Wisconsin Supreme court race have soured some allies and spooked Trump’s team heading into a volatile election season.