Elon Musk refuted a Wall Street Journal report published on Wednesday, April 30, that said the Tesla board was looking to replace him as its CEO. Musk on Thursday, May 1, called the article “deliberately false.”
“It is an EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS that The Wall Street Journal would publish a DELIBERATELY FALSE ARTICLE and fail to include an unequivocal denial beforehand by the Tesla board of directors,” Musk wrote in a post on X, the social media platform he owns.
He quote-tweeted a statement by Tesla chair Robyn Denholm that also denied the report.
“Earlier today, there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company,” Denholm wrote. “This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published).”
Denholm added, “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.”
The denials came after The Wall Street Journal wrote Tesla board members were seriously looking into finding Musk’s successor.
Investors and board members cited his lack of attention to the company as he continues working with the Trump administration to slash the federal workforce and reduce what they see as government waste through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Why the backlash?
DOGE attempted to shutter federal agencies and oversaw the layoffs of tens of thousands of federal employees.
Sources familiar with the matter said the automaker’s board of eight contacted several executive search firms to begin the process of finding a new CEO, The Wall Street Journal reported. The publication said Musk never responded when asked for comment.
Musk’s work with the Trump administration prompted global criticism and protests as well as boycotts against his cars. Last week, Tesla revealed its first quarter profit missed expectations by 71%, falling nearly $570 million short of projections.
Musk’s presence at Tesla
In the wake of the profit drop, Musk vowed to spend more time at Tesla this month, The Wall Street Journal said.
President Donald Trump acknowledged at a recent cabinet meeting that Musk wants to get back to Tesla, but emphasized he is always welcome back at the White House.
Despite his warm relationship with Trump, Musk continually sparred with White House trade adviser Peter Navarro over the administration’s rollout of tariffs, particularly on China, where Trump implemented tariffs on some goods of up to 245%.
Tesla has major business ties in both Beijing and the United States.
Musk’s belief
While Tesla faces new financial obstacles, Musk reportedly believes the company will ultimately prevail with future investments in artificial intelligence, self-driving taxis and robotics.
Critics noted that if Musk focuses more on Tesla and removes himself from DOGE efforts, it could hurt the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government.
