In a surprising development for the electric vehicle industry, Tesla’s board reportedly contacted multiple executive search firms in March to begin looking for a potential successor to Elon Musk, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by the Wall Street Journal.
The search for Musk’s successor was initiated as Tesla’s stock price plummeted by as much as 45 percent this year, reflecting growing board concerns about his divided attention between the automaker and his role in US President Donald Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
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The timing of the report follows Tesla’s first-quarter financial report released last week, which showed profits nosediving 71 percent amid declining sales. On the same day as this troubling earnings announcement, Musk said he would step back from his government responsibilities and refocus on Tesla.
Following this, during a meeting of the US Cabinet last Wednesday, President Trump thanked Musk for his service, noting, “You’re invited to stay as long as you want. At some point, I guess, he wants to get back home to his cars.” Musk, wearing a double hat, responded humorously, “Well, Mr. President, you know they say I wear a lot of hats.”
Sources hinted that Tesla board had explicitly told Musk that he needed to dedicate more time to Tesla around the same period they began exploring replacement options. Whether the succession plan is still going on following Musk’s announcement return to the company remains unclear, with neither Musk nor Tesla responding to WSJ’s requests for comment.
The automaker has faced mounting challenges beyond its financial performance. Once embraced by environmentalists, Tesla has experienced significant brand damage with protests outside showrooms have been led partly by Musk’s open support of the Trump administration and controversial statements on his social media platform X.
Even before joining the Trump administration, Musk had faced criticism for dividing his attention between multiple companies. Beyond Tesla, he oversees SpaceX and remains heavily involved in social media platform X (formerly Twitter), where his promotion of conspiracy theories and far-right content has generated significant controversy.
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