Texas Border Business
Texas Border Business
On May 1, 2025, The Wall Street Journal published an article alleging that Tesla’s board of directors had begun a search for a new CEO to replace Elon Musk. The report cited concerns over Musk’s external commitments, particularly his involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and Tesla’s recent financial performance.
Elon Musk responded to the article on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “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!” In a follow-up post, Musk added, “WSJ is a discredit to journalism.”
Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm also issued a formal denial. “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,” she said. “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.”
A Tesla spokesperson also stated that the story was false and that the Wall Street Journal had been informed of this before the article’s publication.
In contrast, the Wall Street Journal spokesperson, responding to The Daily Beast, said, “We stand by our reporting. Tesla was given the opportunity to provide a statement before publication, which they did not do.”
The discrepancy between the two accounts has raised questions about the sources cited in the article and the nature of the Journal’s editorial process. Neither party has released further details regarding the origin of the reported information.
