Tesla Board Reportedly Explored Options for Replacing Musk
Allison Robbert/Pool via AP
An increasingly frustrated board of directors commenced a search of possible candidates to replace CEO Elon Musk, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday night.
Shares in the company have dropped to $282 per share since the stock price hit a peak of $479 in December. The stock’s precipitous decline has coincided with Musk’s role as the leader of the “Department of Government Efficiency” and President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which have sent markets reeling. The president made Musk a special government employee, which the CEO used to lay off thousands of federal workers and cut government programs. Musk’s overtly political role in the Trump administration has inflicted major brand damage on Tesla, which had cultivated a reputation as an environmentally conscious, if not downright progressive company.
“About a month ago, with Tesla’s stock sinking and some investors irritated about Elon Musk’s White House focus, Tesla’s board got serious about looking for Musk’s successor,” the Journal reported. “Board members reached out to several executive search firms to work on a formal process for finding Tesla’s next chief executive, according to people familiar with the discussions.”
The paper said tensions had been ratcheting up at the company amid cratering sales and profits while Musk spent more time at Trump’s side in Washington, D.C.
“The board narrowed its focus to a major search firm, according to the people familiar with the discussions,” the report added. “The current status of the succession planning couldn’t be determined. It is also unclear if Musk, himself a Tesla board member, was aware of the effort, or if his pledge to spend more time at Tesla has affected succession planning. Musk didn’t respond to requests for comment.”
During an earnings call earlier this month, Musk told investors he was scaling back his government work.
“Starting next month, I’ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla,” he said. Musk also said on the call that he urged Trump to lower the tariffs.
“Tariffs are still tough on a company where margins are still low,” Musk said at the time. “I just wanna emphasize that the tariff decision is entirely up to the president of the United States. I will weigh in with my advice with the president, which he will listen to my advice. But then it’s up to him, of course, to make his decision… So, you know, I’ll continue to advocate for lower tariffs rather than higher tariffs, but that’s all I can do.”
