Donald Trump had another Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, and Elon Musk attended. Remember how Trump and JD Vance threw tantrums about President Zelenskyy’s wartime uniform of black pants and a black sweater? Well, Elon wanders around the White House in an old t-shirt, ill-fitting blazer and the rare double baseball-cap look. That f–king moron really wore two baseball caps at the same time. Anyway, the Cabinet meeting turned into a farewell to Muskrat event, with Trump announcing that Elon was going back to Tesla. Musk spoke during the meeting, telling Trump it had been “an honor to work with you, so thank you for everything.” A short time later, the Wall Street Journal exclusively reported that Tesla’s board has been actively looking for to replace their CEO.
About a month ago, with Tesla’s stock sinking and some investors irritated about Elon Musk’s White House focus, Tesla’s board got serious about looking for Musk’s successor. Board members reached out to several executive search firms to work on a formal process for finding Tesla’s next chief executive, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Tensions had been mounting at the company. Sales and profits were deteriorating rapidly. Musk was spending much of his time in Washington. Around that time, Tesla’s board met with Musk for an update. Board members told him he needed to spend more time on Tesla, according to people familiar with the meeting. And he needed to say so publicly. Musk didn’t push back.
Tesla has been on a losing streak in the months since Musk, its visionary chief executive, began spending much of his time helping President Trump slash federal spending. Last week, after the company said its first-quarter profit had plunged 71%, Musk told investors he would soon pivot back to his job at Tesla.
The board narrowed its focus to a major search firm, according to the people familiar with the discussions. The current status of the succession planning couldn’t be determined. It is also unclear if Musk, himself a Tesla board member, was aware of the effort, or if his pledge to spend more time at Tesla has affected succession planning. Musk didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Soon after WSJ published this, Musk lost his damn mind and threw a tantrum on Twitter. I have that man blocked so I didn’t see much of it, but he was really upset. It sounds like he just had no idea that the board was that fed up with him and his DOGE bullsh-t. While Musk is on Tesla’s board and he’s a major shareholder, he’s still beholden to the board and other shareholders, and Tesla’s stock has sh-t the bed. It’s entirely Musk’s fault too.
Update: The chair of Tesla’s board has denied the story that some board members are looking at other CEO options. WSJ hasn’t removed their story, and I think I know why – two of Tesla’s board members are Murdochs, James and Rupert. The Murdochs own WSJ. So… yeah, the Murdochs want Musk out. A coup at Tesla?
Elon Musk is wearing two Trump caps on top of each other
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 30, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
