Tesla chair denies that board sought to replace Elon Musk
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Tesla chief Elon Musk (left) has said he will spend less time on work for the Trump administration, amid a plunge in sales and profits for the electric vehicle maker.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW YORK - The chair of Tesla’s board of directors denied a report that the company had begun to look for a replacement for Mr Elon Musk, the chief executive officer who has been spending much of his time working for President Donald Trump while the automaker’s sales and profits plummet.
Ms Robyn Denholm, who has led the board for more than six years, said on the social platform X that the report in the Wall Street Journal was “absolutely false.”
“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,” Ms Denholm said on Tesla’s account on X, the social media firm Mr Musk owns.
The Journal reported late on April 30 that, about a month ago, the Tesla board had contacted executive search firms to help look for Mr Musk’s replacement, citing “people familiar with the matter.”
A spokesperson for the Journal said the newspaper stood by its reporting.
After the company reported a 71 per cent drop in quarterly profit
He said that he would spend one or two days a week on government work.
Mr Musk’s absence from Tesla while he oversaw Mr Trump’s efforts to slash government spendin
Mr Musk’s involvement with the administration and with right-wing causes in Europe
Electric vehicle buyers tend to be liberals or centrists.
Tesla’s revenue fell 9 per cent in the first quarter of the year, to US$19.3 billion (S$25 billion), the company reported last week.
The automaker has lost market share in the US, China and Europe as competitors such as BYD, General Motors, Volkswagen and other companies introduce dozens of electric models. Analysts have faulted Tesla for failing to expand its lineup beyond two main cars.
The Model Y sport utility vehicle and the Model 3 sedan account for a vast majority of Tesla’s sales. The Cybertruck, Tesla’s newest vehicle, has not sold as well as Musk said it would. NYTIMES
