The chair of Tesla’s board has denied the company initiated a hunt for a new CEO last month as Elon Musk’s attention was on his work with the Trump administration.
Tesla’s board had reached out to executive search firms to begin a formal process to replace Musk as CEO, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday night, citing people familiar with the discussions. It noted that investors were “irritated” by Musk’s focus on his role overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency while Tesla’s stock plunged and sales continued to drop.
Hours after the article was published, Tesla posted a statement on X from its board chair, Robyn Denholm, denying it had contacted recruiters to start a search for a new CEO. “This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published),” Denholm said, adding that the board was “highly confident” in Musk.
Around the same time, Musk suggested in a post on X that the Journal’s initial report had not included the board’s denial, accusing the newspaper of an “EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS.” He also attacked the Journal as “a discredit to journalism.”
The Journal’s article initially did note that it had reached out to Musk — as is standard journalistic practice — but had not received a response. It later updated its report with Denholm’s statement, noting that Tesla had not provided a response ahead of publication. The Journal’s reporting about Musk comes during a difficult time for his automotive company. Despite the Trump administration’s attempts to boost the company in recent months, Tesla’s fortunes have sunk and its brand has suffered, in part because of Musk’s chaotic DOGE cuts to the federal government. Last week, Tesla announced a staggering 71% drop in first-quarter profits, and Musk announced just hours later that he intends to retreat from his government work to refocus his attention on the company.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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