--- title: "Elon Musk Erupts in Rage at News That Tesla Trying to Replace Him as CEO" description: "the Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla quietly started looking for a replacement for CEO Elon Musk. Musk was furious at the news." date: "2025-05-01" modified: "2025-05-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-furious-news-tesla-replace" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Tesla" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "doge" - "donald trump" - "elon musk" - "evs" - "tesla" --- # Elon Musk Erupts in Rage at News That Tesla Trying to Replace Him as CEO ![the Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla quietly started looking for a replacement for CEO Elon Musk. Musk was furious at the news.]() *\Image: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/Futurism\* With its sales [falling off a cliff]() and [profits vanishing into thin air](), the [*Wall Street Journal* reported]() on Wednesday that Tesla quietly started looking for a replacement for CEO Elon Musk. According to the newspaper's unnamed sources familiar with the discussions, board members reached out to several executive search firms to find the company's next CEO. But it didn't take long for an incensed [Musk to cry foul](). "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," he [raged online](). The company's board chair, Robyn Denholm, also pushed back against the newspaper's reporting, [asserting]() that "Musk and the Board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead." But considering the extremely biased nature of Tesla's board, which critics have accused of being lined with Musk's "[sycophants]()," it's hard to get an exact read on what kind of discussions actually took place. Did members of the company's board, who have historically been extremely loyal to Musk and his vision, really go behind his back to line up a successor? And if they did, would Musk have been aware of those efforts, especially considering how laser-focused he's been on gutting the government with the help of his so-called Department of Government Efficiency — the exact absenteeism and divisiveness that the board would have forced the board's hand, if the *WSJ*'s sources are to be believed? Regardless of the legitimacy of the *WSJ*'s sources — and we should point out that the paper's business reporting is some of the most reliable in the world, so we're doubtful at the claim that the story is completely false — Musk and the board's extremely heated reaction to the reporting does paint a picture of a company in chaos. Investors have long accused Musk of abandoning the carmaker. His [outrageous public behavior]() and [admitted drug use]() have dragged Tesla's brand through the mud, [triggering international protests](). Musk's public approval, which before his turn into hard-right politics was extraordinarily high, has [plummeted into the gutter](). All that negative baggage is now taking a clear toll, with Tesla reporting that its net income had [dropped by an astonishing 71 percent]() in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. Recouping lost brand appeal could soon prove challenging, especially if Musk doubles down on ripping apart the federal government. In an [interview with *Axios* this week](), the CEO admitted that DOGE was "not as effective as I like," hinting at the possibility that he would stay on at the pseudo-department through 2028. That likely won't appease shaken Tesla investors. During the company's first-quarter earnings call, Musk [promised]() that he would spend more time at the carmaker and less time at DOGE, news that sent the company's stock price soaring. And it appears that Musk has had some regrets about watching his carmaker both figuratively and literally go up in flames, the result of his own reckless actions. "Being attacked relentlessly is not super fun," he told *Axios*. "Seeing cars on fire is not fun." **More on Musk:** *[Tesla Is Extremely Upset About Reporting That Its Board Has Been Looking Into Replacing Elon Musk]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()