Tesla board looked for new CEO as Musk focused on | Australian Markets

Tesla board members contacted a number of government search companies to search out a successor to CEO Elon Musk, the Wall Street Journal reviews, citing people conversant in the discussions.

The standing of the board’s push about a month in the past, which, in accordance with the report, was sparked by Musk’s heavy involvement with the Trump administration, couldn’t be decided, WSJ stated.

Musk final week stated he would cut back considerably on the time he dedicated to the Trump administration and spend more time operating Tesla.

Musk’s work at his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the place he has led efforts to cut federal jobs, has been one of probably the most controversial facets of the Trump presidency, and his time away from Tesla has been an further concern for traders as gross sales of its getting older EV lineup have been on the decline.

His embrace of far-right politics in Europe has additionally led to protests in opposition to Musk and the company as nicely as vandalism at its showrooms and charging stations throughout the U.S. and Europe.

The board members met Musk and requested him to acknowledge publicly that he would spend more time at Tesla, the report stated.

But it was unclear if Musk – additionally a member of the board – was conscious of succession planning, or if his pledge to spend more time at Tesla has affected the efforts, the report added.

Tesla and Musk didn’t instantly reply to Reuters’ requests for remark.

Tesla is at a essential juncture.

Amid rising competitors globally, Musk has pivoted from his promise of making a new inexpensive EV platform to rolling out driverless taxis and humanoid robots, highlighting Tesla’s future as an AI and robotics company as a substitute of an automaker.

Much of the company’s valuation relies on that imaginative and prescient, and a few traders imagine Trump will help additional it.

Last week, federal regulators eased guidelines for testing autonomous autos, boosting Tesla’s stock.

Some Tesla administrators, together with co-founder JB Straubel, had been assembly main traders to reassure them the company was in good palms, the WSJ stated.

Activist traders have long accused Tesla’s board of missing independence and failing to rein in Musk.