Headline Roundup • May 1st, 2025
Elon Musk Disputes Report About Tesla Seeking New CEO
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm have publicly denied a report by The Wall Street Journal that the company's board is looking for a new CEO.
The Details: According to The Wall Street Journal (Center bias), about a month ago, Tesla’s board began searching for a successor to the current CEO Elon Musk. However, Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm posted on X, “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.” Musk called the report a "DELIBERATELY FALSE ARTICLE."
For Context: Tesla’s stock value has dropped 30% since the beginning of the year, and the company experienced a 9% drop in revenue for the first quarter of 2025 compared to last year, making $1.8 billion less than Wall Street analysts expected. In late April, Musk announced intentions to spend “significantly” less time on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he has led since its creation after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
How the Media Covered It: Wall Street Journal noted that “Musk’s close ties to Trump tarnished Tesla’s brand for some consumers.” HuffPost (Left bias) wrote that DOGE “has wreaked havoc on the federal government” in its downsizing efforts. New York Post (Lean Right bias) reported that the Journal’s story “comes at a challenging moment for Tesla” after the company experienced a drop in expected revenue and income for the first quarter of 2025.
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SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
About a month ago, with Tesla’s TSLA -0.58%decrease; red down pointing triangle stock sinking and some investors irritated about Elon Musk’s White House focus, Tesla’s board got serious about looking for Musk’s successor.
Board 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.
Elon Musk on Thursday blasted The Wall Street Journal over a report that Tesla’s board of directors is looking to recruit a new chief executive to replace the billionaire in the top job.
The Journal on Wednesday reported that “about a month ago” Tesla’s board started reaching out to recruiting firms to formalize a process to find a new CEO. The company continues to face massive challenges as evidenced by its disastrous first-quarter earnings.
REUTERS
Tesla and Elon Musk are pushing back against a report claiming the company’s board launched a search for a successor to the mercurial CEO last month as he spent time away from the company leading President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that the board had reached out to executive search firms to initiate a formal process to identify potential replacements for Musk as the electric car maker grapples with slowing sales, shrinking profits and a bruising year on the stock market.
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