Elon Musk Isn’t Being Replaced as Tesla CEO

Elon Musk Isn’t Being Replaced as Tesla CEO

Tesla has reaffirmed its confidence in its CEO, Elon Musk, after a report claimed the company was looking to replace him amid poor results and a sinking share price.

“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,” said Robyn Denholm, the chair of Tesla’s board. “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.”

This followed a report in The Wall Street Journal that said “board members” had been talking to several headhunters about plans to start finding a successor to Musk. They were reportedly beginning talks around “a month ago”, so the sources believed this was happening toward the end of March or early April.

This news comes a week after the company reported a 71% drop in profits year-over-year, citing declining car sales as the problem. Tesla has seen a drop in deliveries throughout Q1 of 2025, which is believed to be in part connected to protests against Musk’s involvement in the US government’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project.

Musk announced during the earnings call last week that he would be taking a smaller role in DOGE to better focus on his role at Tesla. He said during the call he may continue to dedicate “several days a week” to DOGE.

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The Wall Street Journal’s sources didn’t clarify whether the report was a concerted move at Tesla’s board, or whether it was individuals speaking to the recruitment teams. Tesla’s board is made of eight people, including Musk himself. Other members include Denholm, Kimbal Musk, and son of Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch.

Musk’s work at DOGE isn’t his only project alongside Tesla. Musk is also CEO of xAI, CEO of SpaceX, and chairman of social media network X.

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About James Peckham

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James Peckham

I’ve written tech news for over a decade, and as a Reporter at PCMag, I cover the latest developments across the gadgets and services you use every day. Previously, I worked for Android Police, TechRadar, and more.

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