On Thursday (May 1st), Elon Musk posted multiple messages on his social - media platform X, criticizing a media report and saying it "damages the reputation of the journalism industry".
This incident started with a recent report titled "Tesla's board begins to look for a new CEO to replace Musk". The report stated that, according to sources, due to the decline in Tesla's stock price and the dissatisfaction of some investors with Musk's excessive focus on certain affairs, Tesla's board has started to consider the matter of a successor for Musk.
Once the news came out, Tesla's stock price dropped by up to 3% in after - hours trading on the Robinhood platform, but later recovered the losses.
Musk was not happy about this report. He posted on X that "this is an extremely serious and unethical act" and accused the report of "deliberate fabrication".
Subsequently, Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm also clarified, saying that the media report about "the board has contacted head - hunting firms to find a new CEO" is "completely untrue". She also said, "Elon Musk is Tesla's CEO, and the board has full confidence in his ability to continue implementing the exciting future growth plans."
Before this incident, the electric - vehicle giant did experience a significant decline in sales and profits in the first quarter. Both its revenue and profit in the first quarter fell short of expectations. In the quarter from January to March this year, Tesla's total revenue was $19.335 billion, a 9% decrease compared to $21.301 billion in the same period last year; the net profit was $420 million, a substantial drop compared to $1.405 billion in the same period last year.
At that time, Musk admitted in an earnings conference call that the relationship with the Trump administration might damage Tesla's stock price. He said that he would reduce the time spent on the so - called Government Efficiency Department (DOGE) and allocate more time and energy to Tesla's business. In addition, Musk also plans to "spend only one or two days a week" managing the Government Efficiency Department starting from May.
Looking at Tesla's stock price, it has plummeted by more than 25% since the beginning of this year.
