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Tesla’s Robyn Denholm denies report of board seeking to replace Musk
- IBJ Bureau
- May 02, 2025
Tesla Chairperson Robyn Denholm has denied a Wall Street Journal report that had said that board members about a month ago had reached out to several executive search firms to find a replacement for CEO Elon Musk.
Ms Denholm called the report “absolutely false” and said on the X that the EV-maker’s board was “highly confident” in Mr Musk's ability to “continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead”.
The Wall Street Journal has said in a statement that it stands by its reporting that the board was seeking a new CEO due to Mr Musk’s heavy involvement with President Donald Trump’s administration, citing people familiar with the discussions. The newspaper has added that the current status of the board’s push cannot be determined.
Mr Musk said on the X that the report was a “deliberately-false article”.
Activist investors have long accused Tesla’s board of lacking independence and failing to rein in Mr Musk.
Tesla is at a crucial juncture. Mr Musk has pivoted from his promise of making a new affordable EV platform to rolling out driverless taxis and humanoid robots, highlighting Tesla's future as an AI and robotics company instead of an automaker.
Much of the company’s valuation is based on that vision and some investors say that Mr Trump will help further it. Last week, federal regulators had eased rules for testing autonomous vehicles, boosting Tesla’s stock.
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