An early investor in Tesla has called for Elon Musk to leave his post as the company’s CEO if he doesn’t depart from his current job focusing on cutting down the federal government.
Ross Gerber told Sky News that Musk has lost his focus and that he’s now too “divisive,” pointing to Musk’s leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk’s slashing of federal agencies has prompted outrage and protests against Tesla, with owners being urged to sell their vehicles.
“I think Tesla needs a new CEO, and I decided today I was going to start saying it, and so this is the first show that I’m saying it on,” Gerber told Sky.
“It’s time for somebody to run Tesla. The business has been neglected for too long,” he added. “There are too many important things Tesla is doing, so either Elon should come back to Tesla and be the CEO of Tesla and give up his other jobs, or he should focus on the government and keep doing what he is doing but find a suitable CEO of Tesla.”
The investor said the company is in crisis and that he has sold off a significant number of shares in the last few months. Its market value has dropped more than $800 billion since December, and it was down another 4 percent in Tuesday stock trading.
The demand for electric cars appears to have reached its zenith in several Western markets amid steeper competition from cheaper Chinese alternatives. Concerns from investors also come as President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade wars will likely lead to higher costs.
Gerber argued that Musk has been spread too thin since his purchase of Twitter in 2022 and that his work for Trump, along with his posts on social media, have brought negative attention to the company.
“The company’s reputation has just been destroyed by Elon Musk,” said Gerber. “Sales are plummeting so, yeah, it’s a crisis. You literally can’t sell the best product in the marketplace because the CEO is so divisive.”
This comes as one of the company’s biggest supporters has said that Musk has to cut back on his government work to limit the damage as the company is in the middle of a “brand tornado
