1 May 2025 : Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Thursday hit out at The Wall Street Journal over a report claiming the company’s board had reached out to executive search firms in a bid to find his potential successor. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Elon Musk called the report a “deliberately false article” and accused the publication of committing an “Extremely bad breach of ethics.”
Earlier on Thursday, Tesla chair Robyn Denholm said the media report was “absolutely false”. Denholm added that the board is highly confident in Musk’s ability to continue “executing on the exciting growth plan ahead”.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that some Tesla board members had contacted executive search firms about a month ago — at the peak of what it called a crisis phase at the automaker.
The outreach reportedly came amid concerns from investors about Elon Musk’s growing focus on his cost-cutting role tied to the US government and how much time he was dedicating to Tesla.
According to the report, board members also privately urged Musk to increase his presence at the company. The Tesla CEO reportedly did not object to the request. The WSJ report said while the board had zeroed in on one recruitment firm, it remains unclear how far the succession planning has progressed.
Summary:
Elon Musk called the board’s reported CEO search an “extremely bad breach of trust” amid concerns about his focus and Tesla’s performance.