Tesla is reportedly on a hunt for Elon Musk's replacement.
Tesla's Board on the Hunt for a New CEO: What's Cookin' with Elon Musk?
It seems Elon Musk's days as Tesla's CEO may be numbered, if recent rumors are to be believed. Sources close to The Wall Street Journal have spilled the beans about Tesla's board of directors actively searching for a new chief executive to replace the man himself.
They've been scoping out potential candidates for about a month now, reaching out to several executive search firms in the process. This move comes amid a turbulent period for Tesla, as the company grapples with investor discontent over Musk's deep involvement in the Trump administration and a decline in the firm's stock price.
In the aftermath of Trump's election win in November 2021, Tesla's stock soared, hitting a mammoth $1.5 trillion market value in December. However, things have taken a nosedive since then, with the share value dropping to around $900 billion. Some internal Tesla employees began viewing Musk's political escapades as a distraction as early as 2025, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Tesla's prosperity isn't just taking a hit on the home front—issues in Europe have also complicated matters. Musk's support for far-right political parties in Germany and the UK has caused a drop in Tesla's popularity on European markets. Additionally, Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods have put a damper on Tesla's plans for mass production of electric trucks, Cybertruck, and Semi.
Musk himself seems to have recognized the need for a change, reportedly deciding to cut back on his work in the Trump administration last year. This decision came after a Delaware court scrapped a $55 billion compensation package for Musk from Tesla. According to The Wall Street Journal, Musk confided in someone from his inner circle that he no longer wished to remain Tesla's CEO but worried about finding a suitable successor. After all, despite his 13% stake in the company, he's been working tirelessly, without pay, for the past seven years.
Last week, Tesla reported a staggering 71% drop in profits in the first quarter of this year. In response, Musk announced plans to focus more on his duties as head of DOGE and less on Tesla. In the first three months of 2025, Tesla delivered just over 336,700 vehicles to customers, a 13% decline from the previous year—marking the company's worst quarterly performance since 2022.
Musk joined Tesla back in 2004 as a key investor and took over as CEO four years later. Despite stepping down as chairman of the board in 2018, he's remained an active participant in the company's operations, as noted by The Wall Street Journal.
As for Musk's net worth, Forbes estimates it at a whopping $386.5 billion.
Rumors about Musk's departure have raised questions about who might take over at the helm of Tesla. Potential candidates for the role include both internal executives and external leaders with expertise in automotive, battery technology, and autonomous driving. Among the possible internal contenders are JB Straubel, a Tesla co-founder and current CEO of Redwood Materials (a battery recycler), and Tom Zhu, Tesla's Senior VP, known for his operational efficiency at Gigafactories.
External candidates include Stella Li, BYD's EVP and Americas head, who's credited with expanding BYD’s global footprint, and John Krafcik, former Waymo CEO, who brings autonomous driving credentials to the table. José Muñoz, Hyundai Motor CEO, is another name being floated thanks to his experience in managing large-scale global automotive operations.
Analysts stress that rockstar leadership like Musk's can create unique challenges for successors, with Wedbush's Dan Ives emphasizing that replacing him would fundamentally change Tesla's narrative. So, it'll be interesting to see who Tesla's board settles on—or if Musk decides to hang in there after all!
- The Wall Street Journal sources have suggested that Tesla's board, searching for a new CEO since about a month, has reached out to multiple executive search firms in the financial and business sector.
- Rumors of Elon Musk's potential departure from Tesla in 2025 have raised concern among many, considering his significant 13% stake in the company and his non-stop work for the past seven years, worth billions according to Forbes.
- Potential candidates for the Tesla CEO position include both internal executives, such as JB Straubel and Tom Zhu, and external leaders with expertise in technology, automotive, and autonomous driving, like Stella Li, John Krafcik, and José Muñoz.
- Tesla's stock markets have taken a hit due to Musk's political involvements, particularly in Europe where his support for far-right political parties has diminished the company's popularity.
- Issues surrounding Tesla's mass production of electric trucks and Semi have been complicated by Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods, adding another layer of difficulty to Tesla's challenging business landscape in technology and politics.
