A Wall Street Journal report said Tesla directors had contacted executive-search firms about finding a possible successor to Elon Musk. Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm called that claim “absolutely false,” while Musk accused the Journal of publishing a deliberately false story. The available contemporaneous accounts establish a public dispute—not that Tesla had definitively decided to replace its CEO.
What the Wall Street Journal reported
On April 30, 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla board members had contacted several executive-search firms about finding a successor to Musk. The report, attributed to people familiar with the discussions, said the outreach had occurred about a month earlier.
The Journal also reported that directors had told Musk to spend more time at Tesla and to make that commitment publicly. Its headline described the activity as the board opening a search for a CEO to succeed him. That wording represents the Journal’s account, not an agreed fact.
How Tesla and Musk responded
Denholm’s denial
On May 1, Denholm posted that the claim Tesla’s board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search was “absolutely false.” She said the board remained “highly confident” in Musk’s ability to execute Tesla’s growth plan.
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Musk’s attack on the report
Musk amplified Denholm’s denial and sharply criticized the Journal. He wrote that publishing a “DELIBERATELY FALSE ARTICLE” was an “EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS.” In a later post recorded in contemporaneous coverage, he called the WSJ “a discredit to journalism.”
The unresolved dispute over pre-publication contact
The accounts also conflict over whether Tesla gave the Journal its denial before the article was published. Denholm said the denial had been communicated to the media before publication. The Verge reported that the Journal’s update said it had not received a Tesla statement before publication.
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Those statements describe opposing versions of the communications process. The contemporaneous sources do not independently resolve which account is correct, so it would be inaccurate to present either version as settled fact.
What happened after the report
The reviewed coverage does not establish whether any reported succession search continued. The Verge reported that Musk said on an earnings call that he would devote far more time to Tesla beginning in May. That pledge does not, by itself, confirm or disprove the Journal’s account of earlier board discussions or show whether a search was active afterward.
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What can—and cannot—be concluded
- The allegation originated with a Wall Street Journal report based on unnamed people familiar with Tesla board discussions.
- The reported activity involved outreach to executive-search firms and a possible formal process to identify a successor.
- Denholm publicly denied that Tesla’s board had initiated such a search and expressed confidence in Musk.
- Musk publicly condemned the Journal’s reporting.
- The sources disagree about whether Tesla’s denial reached the Journal before publication.
- These May 2025 accounts do not establish Tesla’s current succession plans or prove that the company was definitively replacing Musk.
Answering the key questions
Did Tesla’s board look for a replacement?
The Journal reported that directors had contacted search firms, but Tesla’s chair denied that the board had initiated a CEO search. The evidence supports reporting both positions, not declaring the allegation proven.
Did Musk deny the report?
Yes. He endorsed Denholm’s denial and accused the Journal of knowingly publishing false information.
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Is Tesla still trying to replace Musk?
The contemporaneous material reviewed here does not answer that present-tense question. It documents a dispute in April and May 2025, not the current status of Tesla’s succession planning.
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