Tesla's board begins 'searching for Elon Musk's replacement' as billionaire brands report 'absolutely false'

1 May 2025, 06:40 | Updated: 1 May 2025, 07:56

Tesla’s board of executives has reportedly started searching for Elon Musk’s replacement amid plummeting stock prices and historically low sales.

The board at the electric car company is allegedly looking to replace Musk as CEO - following his long and controversial foray into politics as Donald Trump’s closest ally.

Several executive search firms were approached by Telsa to sound out potential CEOs, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Since becoming head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk’s net worth has fallen dramatically, as have Tesla stocks.

Read more: Trump tells Musk 'you're invited to stay as long as you want' despite DOGE lead's rumoured departure

He is the company’s largest shareholder at just under 13%.

But low sales, mostly caused by boycotts due to his hard-right politics and alliance with Donald Trump, has raised questions over whether he is fit to run the business.

Elon has slammed the report, branding it "DELIBERATELY FALSE."

Taking to his social media platform X, he said: "It is an EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS that the @WSJ would publish a DELIBERATELY FALSE ARTICLE and fail to include an unequivocal denial beforehand by the Tesla board of directors!"

A Telsa statement read: "Earlier today, there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company.

"This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published).

"The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the Board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead."

Alongside supporting a slew of far-right parties in Europe, Musk has fired tens of thousands of federal workers as head of DOGE.

This has led to Tesla showrooms across Europe and America being targeted by protesters, something Musk has blamed on the Democratic Party.

It comes as Trump told Elon Musk 'you're invited to stay as long as you want' despite the tech billionaire announcing his departure from the US president's Cabinet.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Trump joked Musk wanted to "get back to his cars", after the tech mogul announced he will be stepping down from the Department of Government Efficiency to focus on his company, Tesla.

"This could be the greatest administration from the dawn of the country," Elon said.

He said Musk had been criticised and "treated unfairly" by the public, adding that the "vast majority of people in this country" appreciate him.

"The American people voted for secure borders, safe cities and sensible spending, and that's what they've got," Musk said.

He added: "A tremendous amount has been accomplished in the first 100 days".

Musk arrived with a black DOGE hat on, putting Trump's 'Gulf of America' red hat on overtop.

"Elon I love the double hat," Trump said.

"Even my hat has a hat!" Musk replied.

Musk is expected to step down as the head of DOGE in May.

DOGE has overseen massive cuts to the federal government since Trump took office, with thousands of workers losing their jobs in the process.

One senior administration official told Politico in April that Musk will retain an informal role as an adviser after quitting the cabinet.

Another warned that anyone thinking Musk will give up his position entirely is “fooling themselves.”

Musk's reported exit comes after wide-ranging reports that those close to Trump have become increasingly frustrated with the Telsa boss in recent weeks, pointing to his unpredictability.