Tesla’s board reportedly sought a successor while Musk wheeled around Washington

In response to a brand new, brow-raising WSJ report, Tesla’s board quietly started trying to find Elon Musk’s potential successor a few month in the past, approaching govt search companies because the carmaker confronted protests, plummeting gross sales, and shrinking earnings whereas Musk waded into Washington to slash authorities spending.

Board members reportedly met with Musk to specific issues about his divided consideration, telling him he wanted to spend extra time on Tesla and to publicly decide to doing so; per the Journal report, Musk didn’t push again and subsequently advised traders he would “allocate much more time to Tesla” beginning in Could.

Tesla chair Robyn Denholm stated in an announcement launched in a single day that it was “completely false” that the corporate approached recruitment companies. She additionally claimed “this was communicated to the media earlier than the report was revealed.” Musk shared the assertion and argued it was an “EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS.” The WSJ has since stated Tesla by no means responded to the reporters’ questions.

Musk’s authorities work led to Tesla’s first annual gross sales decline in over a decade; it additionally tarnished the corporate’s model picture amongst some shoppers on account of his political alignment. The affect has been quick and livid: Tesla’s market worth dropped from $1.5 trillion in December to about $900 billion at the moment.

Regardless of these challenges, Musk sounded optimistic about Tesla’s future throughout final week’s earnings name, the place the corporate reported a 71% revenue decline and 9% income drop.”We’re not on the ragged fringe of loss of life,” Musk assured traders, “not even shut.”

The present standing of the succession planning stays unclear, in accordance with the Journal. It provides that it’s unclear whether or not Musk, who has run Tesla for almost 20 years, was conscious of the trouble.

This story has been up to date to incorporate statements from Tesla and the WSJ.