Elon Musk, Tesla chair deny the CEO replacement report

Tesla and its chair, Robyn Denholm, have denied a Wall Street Journal report suggesting that the company’s board initiated a search for a new CEO to replace Elon Musk.

Denholm stated on Tesla’s X account that the report is “false” and clarified that the board had not contacted any recruitment firms regarding the search.

Elon Musk criticized the article, calling it “deliberately false” and a “breach of ethics”.

The Wall Street Journal had claimed that Tesla’s board approached executive search firms, citing unnamed sources.

The report also suggested that board members urged Musk to spend more time on Tesla, but Musk did not object during discussions.

Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, suggested that while tensions might exist, Musk seems poised to remain as Tesla’s CEO for now.

Despite past criticism over the board’s oversight of Musk, no official action regarding a CEO replacement has been confirmed.

🔗 Source: Axios

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Tesla’s sales decline shows brand vulnerability to CEO politics

Tesla’s current predicament reveals how a CEO’s political stance can dramatically impact premium consumer brands with politically-engaged customer bases.

Multiple data points confirm this trend: Tesla sales in Germany plummeted by 76% in February 2025 while overall EV registrations increased1, and European Union registrations fell by 50% in January when the broader EV market grew by 34%2.

In the U.S., repeat Tesla buyers in traditionally Democratic-leaning states dropped from 72% to 65%, while slightly increasing in Republican-leaning states3.

This geographic trend is particularly significant for Tesla, as environmentally-conscious consumers in liberal-leaning markets have historically been its core customer base.

Morning Consult polling shows that 32% of U.S. buyers now refuse to consider purchasing a Tesla, up from 27% the previous year, highlighting growing resistance to the brand3.

The physical manifestation of this backlash has included protests at showrooms and even vandalism against Tesla vehicles, creating both reputational and tangible business challenges1.