Elon Musk refutes report Tesla is looking for new CEO amid falling profits

The Wall Street Journal is reporting the Tesla board is looking to replace its billionaire CEO

Elon Musk. But Musk and others are refuting the story, calling it a deliberately false article

Musk wrote on X Thursday, a day after the report, it's an extremely bad breach of ethics

that the Wall Street Journal would publish a deliberately false article and failed to include

an unequivocal denial beforehand by the Tesla board of directors. Tesla's chair, Robin Denholm, also backs up Musk, writing on X Wednesday, calling the

article absolutely false, saying the journal was told before the publishing of the article

it was untrue. Denholm says 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. The denials come after the Journal reports several Tesla investors and board members were looking to find Musk's successor, citing a lack of attention to the company as he worked closely with the Trump administration

Musk is heading efforts to reduce the size of the federal government and reduce what the administration sees as waste through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE

DOGE has attempted to shutter federal agencies and oversaw tens of thousands of layoffs of federal employees

The journal says sources familiar with the matter acknowledge Tesla board of eight contacted several executive firms to begin the process of finding a new CEO The journal says Musk never responded to its request

for comment. Musk's work with the Trump administration prompted Democratic backlash and protests, as well as boycotts against Tesla. Last week, the automaker revealed its first quarter

profit missed expectations by more than 70 percent. Amid the profit drop, Musk reportedly

vowed to spend more time at Tesla. President Trump acknowledged Musk is seeking to get back

to his company while emphasizing he's always welcome at the White House. Despite his warm

relationship with Trump, Musk has continually sparred with White House trade advisor Peter

Navarro over the administration's rollout of tariffs, particularly China, which faces tariffs

of up to 245 percent on some goods. Tesla has major business ties in both Beijing and the U.S

While Tesla faces new obstacles financially, Musk reportedly believes the company will ultimately

prevail with future investments in artificial intelligence, self-driving taxis, and robotics. Critics say that if Musk focuses more on Tesla and removes himself from Doge efforts

it may jeopardize the Trump administration's efforts to downsize the federal government

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