33 votes

Tesla board opened search for a CEO to succeed Elon Musk

13 comments

  1. Eji1700
    (edited )
    Link
    My random reading of this from other sites and sources seems to imply the board is all his family/puppets anyways so this is likely more PR move than anything so that those who own teslas don’t...

    My random reading of this from other sites and sources seems to imply the board is all his family/puppets anyways so this is likely more PR move than anything so that those who own teslas don’t have to feel uncomfortable about it.

    Edit -
    And I just saw something claiming the chair of the board says this isn't even true. It's too late for me to dig into that but I wouldn't be shocked if it never was or if they just floated it to see the reaction.

    24 votes
  2. [2]
    magico13
    Link
    Sadly it appears this is not the case, or at least they've reconciled and aren't willing to admit that they were ever looking....

    Sadly it appears this is not the case, or at least they've reconciled and aren't willing to admit that they were ever looking.

    https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/30/business/tesla-board-elon-musk-ceo-search

    I'm a Tesla owner who was a big fan of the "accelerating the world's transition to renewable energy" and have not been a fan of Musk himself or the company's new focus on robotics for a while now, so I am hoping they do end up replacing him with someone focused on the original mission. Alas, that's not gonna happen so I'm going to have to put my support elsewhere, looking at Rivian and hoping they don't lose their focus like Tesla has.

    21 votes
    1. Carrie
      Link Parent
      Insert Michael Scott snip snap snip snap GIF. Sometimes, I wish we could just blow up the constant news cycle, because everyone behaves in such a reactive way these days, despite these decisions...

      Insert Michael Scott snip snap snip snap GIF.

      Sometimes, I wish we could just blow up the constant news cycle, because everyone behaves in such a reactive way these days, despite these decisions being things people should carefully consider with regards to short, medium, and long term impact.

      6 votes
  3. skybrian
    Link
    From the article: … …

    From the article:

    [About a month ago,] [b]oard members reached out to several executive search firms to work on a formal process for finding Tesla’s next chief executive, according to people familiar with the discussions.

    Tensions had been mounting at the company. Sales and profits were deteriorating rapidly. Musk was spending much of his time in Washington.

    The board narrowed its focus to a major search firm, according to the people familiar with the discussions. The current status of the succession planning couldn’t be determined. It is also unclear if Musk, himself a Tesla board member, was aware of the effort, or if his pledge to spend more time at Tesla has affected succession planning. Musk didn’t respond to requests for comment.

    Early last year, after some two decades of running Tesla, Musk confided to someone close to him, in late night texts, that he was frustrated to still be working nonstop at the company, especially after a Delaware judge had struck down his multibillion-dollar pay package.

    Last spring, he told that person that he no longer wanted to be CEO of Tesla, but that he was worried that no one could replace him atop the company and sell the vision that Tesla isn’t just an automaker, but the future of robotics and automation as well.

    8 votes
  4. Goblin
    (edited )
    Link
    I personally think that the damage is done either way. Musk is already so closely associated with Tesla that it won't matter in the short term at the very least. Other auto-manufacturers are...

    I personally think that the damage is done either way. Musk is already so closely associated with Tesla that it won't matter in the short term at the very least. Other auto-manufacturers are already catching up with EV as well and Tesla isn't the same type of leader in the industry as it was several years ago.

    Maybe after five years or so of him not being involved that people won't be associating Tesla with Musk's and we start seeing more of a difference but I think a lot of folks are just done with Musk and Tesla at this point.

    5 votes
  5. [7]
    BeanBurrito
    Link
    I thought Musk couldn't be ousted because he is the majority stock holder. Is that incorrect? They should have done this a long time ago, they have been very given him too much slack.

    I thought Musk couldn't be ousted because he is the majority stock holder. Is that incorrect?

    They should have done this a long time ago, they have been very given him too much slack.

    2 votes
    1. sparksbet
      Link Parent
      Musk willingly stepping down as CEO, which is what the articles on this have implied would happen imo, doesn't necessarily entail him no longer having any say in the company or even afaik no...

      Musk willingly stepping down as CEO, which is what the articles on this have implied would happen imo, doesn't necessarily entail him no longer having any say in the company or even afaik no longer being on the board. He just would no longer be doing the job of CEO.

      5 votes
    2. [5]
      skybrian
      Link Parent
      Looks like Musk has 12.8% ownership.

      Looks like Musk has 12.8% ownership.

      2 votes
      1. [4]
        BeanBurrito
        Link Parent
        Then why are they tolerating him?

        Then why are they tolerating him?

        1. [2]
          Eji1700
          Link Parent
          The board is literally his family/friends/close allies.

          The board is literally his family/friends/close allies.

          8 votes
          1. BeanBurrito
            Link Parent
            That would explain why he is tolerated when other corporations would have voted out such a CEO a long time ago. Thank you.

            That would explain why he is tolerated when other corporations would have voted out such a CEO a long time ago. Thank you.

            4 votes
        2. IsildursBane
          Link Parent
          Because Tesla stock is heavily tied to Elon's reputation. And his reputation has only started declining since acquiring Twitter (the pedo cave diver incident did not make much impact on his...

          Because Tesla stock is heavily tied to Elon's reputation. And his reputation has only started declining since acquiring Twitter (the pedo cave diver incident did not make much impact on his reputation since it did not make much news). But also, even with his declining reputation, Tesla stock is still over valued as a car company, and so it is hard to calculate how much Elon is a benefit or liability at this point to stock value

          5 votes