8:13 am, May 2, 2025
Tesla has insisted that boss Elon Musk is going nowhere, following media reports of an alleged plan to oust the world’s richest man.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the EV firm has contacted recruitment firms with a view to finding a new CEO to fill Musk’s shoes.
The report claimed that several senior board members at the American outfit had contacted recruiters in response to mounting tensions over Musk’s political activities.
However, in a strongly worded statement released yesterday (May 1) the firm categorically denied that Musk would be departing.
It labelled media reports ‘absolutely false’ with chairwoman Robyn Denholm insisting that the board remains ‘highly confident’ in the controversial leader.
Denholm said: ‘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.
‘This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published).
‘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.’
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.
This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published).
The CEO of Tesla is…
— Tesla (@Tesla) May 1, 2025
Last week, Musk announced that he would be devoting more time to Tesla going forward as he takes a step back from his role within Donald Trump’s administration.
In his own posts on X, which he also owns, Musk called the latest report ‘deliberately false’.
The report had said that Tesla’s board had told the billionaire that he needed to spend more time focused on the electric car firm, and that he needed to say so publicly.
It follows the firm suffering tumbling sales amid shrinking demand in China and an aging product lineup.
