USA 
United Kingdom
Tesla’s board has dismissed a report it recently began a search for a successor to Elon Musk as chief executive, calling the suggestion ‘absolutely false.’
Claims that Tesla contacted executive headhunters to begin the replacement process broke Wednesday, following a Wall Street Journal Report.
The succession chatter comes after heavy scrutiny about the future of Musk’s role at the firm.
In recent months, the controversial tech mogul has been preoccupied with a short-lived but busy tenure as ‘special government employee’ for the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
‘Highly confident’ – no plans to replace Musk as Tesla CEO, board says
The Journal cited unnamed sources in its report, claiming that Tesla’s board reached out to a handful of elite executive search firms in March.
Musk moved quickly to refute the report. On Thursday, the current Tesla CEO – also chief exec at SpaceX and X – posted on the social media platform: “It is an EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS that the @WSJ would publish a DELIBERATELY FALSE ARTICLE and fail to include an unequivocal denial beforehand by the Tesla board of directors!”
The automotive giant also posted on X, denying the claims hold any truth. Tesla chair Robyn Denholm, through Tesla’s official account, said the board is “highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead.”
The Journal said it stands by Wednesday’s report, which claimed that Tesla’s board directors recently ordered Musk to spend more time with the company.
“Tesla was given the opportunity to provide a statement before publication, which they did not do,” a spokesperson told CNN.
According to The Journal, Musk didn’t push back on the board’s request.
Questions linger over Musk’s future as Tesla CEO
On Wednesday, Musk also announced he would be stepping back from his role as DOGE chair and spending more time at the helm of Tesla, as the company attempts to recover from a tumultuous year.
After hitting an all-time high in December 2024, Tesla’s stock price plummeted by 45% as of mid-March, coinciding with Musk’s wildly controversial role in the Trump administration’s overhaul of federal government.
While the share price has rebounded in recent weeks, Tesla reported a staggering 71% drop in earnings in the first quarter of 2025, with sales and profit both slumping.
Musk’s significant number of roles at multiple firms as owner, investor, founder, and chief executive have long drawn attention from investors. He acknowledged his busy schedule as chief executive of multiple firms in a Cabinet meeting this week.
After President Trump said, “I guess he wants to get back home to his cars,” Tesla’s CEO – donning two hats – responded: “Well, Mr. President, you know they say I wear a lot of hats.”
Last week, he told Tesla investors there has been “some blowback for the time that I’ve been spending in government with the Department of Government Efficiency.”
“Starting next month, I’ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla,” Musk added.
Attempts by company shareholders to encourage Musk to spend more time on Tesla have included plans to push through an eye-watering $56billion compensation package.
While investors have voted through the pay package on multiple occasions since its initial tabling in 2018, arguing it is key to securing Musk’s attention and focus, a Delaware state Judge has twice thwarted the move.
But Tesla’s board, if indeed it has not done so already, could soon be forced to engage the help of executive headhunters.
With the prospect of a world-record compensation plan hanging in the balance, the Journal has previously reported Musk no longer wants the CEO job, citing an insider who allegedly spoke with the entrepreneur.
