Tesla (TSLA) may soon have a new CEO, director claims

Is Elon Musk, the co-founder and CEO of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), credited by many as the sole driving force behind its huge success, getting ready to step aside? According to at least one person familiar with the matter, the idea may not be that far-fetched.

A late Wednesday piece by Reuters suggests major changes may be forthcoming at the helm of the world's largest maker of electric vehicles.

James Murdoch, a member of Tesla's board of directors, who testified in court on Wednesday over Elon Musk's 2018 Tesla pay package, claims Elon Musk, the company's CEO of nearly 15 years, has "in the last few months identified someone as a potential successor in the role of chief executive", as reported by Reuters.

The director did not provide any further details or hints at who Tesla's next leader may be, but the suggestion is almost certain to become another subject of fierce debate among Elon Musk's many fans, haters, general followers, and, perhaps most importantly, investors.

The eccentric billionaire recently completed his controversial $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, immediately firing its top management, leting go of the board, and in essence becoming the sole decision maker.

While Musk hinted his stint at the social network may be temporary, Twitter is the latest to join the list of major companies under his rein - Musk also runs SpaceX and Neuralink, their subsidiaries, as well as numerous smaller ventures.

The entrepreneur's habit of spearheading multiple global businesses at once has seen increased scrutiny and criticism from investors and analysts in recent months, with some attributing Tesla's poor stock performance - shares are down 54% YTD, and 40% in past 2 months alone - to the loss of confidence in Musk's ability to maintain enough focus.

For one, the very same James Murdoch answered "yes", when asked whether Tesla's audit committee is monitoring the Twitter situation, echoing the broader investor concerns.

Elon Musk has not publicly commented on speculations, and by all means still remains the key decision maker at Tesla, recently toying with idea of a $5B-$10B share buyback.

Nonetheless, there will come a day when Elon Musk is no longer in charge of the EV giant he gave birth to - today's court testimonies show it may happen much sooner than we all thought.

By Vlad Schepkov

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