Tesla board chair denies trying to oust Elon Musk as the CEO leaves the West Wing
A report that Tesla is looking for a replacement of Elon Musk as CEO has been met with denials from the company, its board’s chairwoman Robyn Denholm, and Musk himself.
According to the claim, the Tesla board contacted several high-profile executive search companies how it could go about the replacement, and even zeroed in on one of them, while telling Musk that he needed to spend more time on Tesla.
Musk didn’t object and announced that he will reduce his newly minted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) obligations starting in May. He has now left the West Wing office where he worked on trying to slash government spending and, during the last cabinet meeting, Trump thanked him and said that he likely wants to "to get back home to his cars."
Trump’s Chief of Staff clarified that the team remains in frequent contact with Musk, but "instead of meeting with him in person, I'm talking to him on the phone" with "the same net effect."
For his part, Elon Musk previously said that he will only spend a day or two a week on DOGE now, leaving the team he assembled to execute.
Tesla has been facing a double whammy of demand destruction and manufacturing costs increase since Musk’s stint at the White House began, resulting in a drastic net income drop last quarter.
While it tried to attribute the slump in shipments to the new Model Y launch times and factory retooling, the fact that it still continues in places like Europe, where its sales have fallen off a cliff, could indicate a persistent brand perception shift.
Tesla is addressing the issue by preparing to launch cheaper Model Y and Model 3 versions with lesser specs and interior comforts, but despite Musk’s refocusing on its daily operations, it might take a few quarters before shareholders can gauge the success of these measures.
