Elon Musk wants to be CEO for another five years

Tesla Elon Musk Wants to be CEO for Another Five Years

2025-05-30 From | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

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Given the declining sales, Elon Musk's position as Tesla CEO has recently been called into question. But for the company founder, it is certain: he will stay, but wants to set new priorities for himself.

Elon Musk claims the leadership role at Tesla—even five years from now.(Image: F. Rump) — Elon Musk claims the leadership role at Tesla—even five years from now.
(Image: F. Rump)

Elon Musk has no plans to leave the helm of electric car manufacturer Tesla. In a stage interview in Qatar, he said "yes" to the question of whether he would still be Tesla CEO in five years. When asked if he was certain, Musk laughed and said, "Well, no, I could die." At the same time, he reaffirmed that he wanted more Tesla shares so that critical investors cannot push him out of the job.

Over the weekend, it became known that the automaker has set up a hurdle for shareholder lawsuits. After a change in the bylaws, only shareholders with at least a three percent stake are allowed to file lawsuits against managers or board members in the interest of the company. Tesla is thus making use of a legal change in Texas, where the company is now headquartered. The background is a court dispute over a compensation arrangement for Musk.

His political views and role as a cost-cutter for President Donald Trump in the US government have, in the opinion of many company observers, contributed to the decline in Tesla deliveries in recent months. Musk downplayed the decline: sales were weak in Europe and strong elsewhere. Tesla has also gained customers on the right side of the political spectrum.

A few weeks ago, the "Wall Street Journal" reported that members of the Tesla board had contacted headhunter firms to initiate the search for a new CEO. However, Tesla had denied that there was any initiative from the board regarding this.

Musk also said that he would likely spend less money on political purposes in the future. "I think I've done enough," he said in justification. Musk had donated over 250 million dollars to Trump's campaign last year and at times became a close confidant of the US president. If he sees a reason to spend money on politics in the future, he will do so again, Musk added. "Currently, I see no reason."

Questions From the Traffic Safety Authority

In the USA, Tesla is currently under scrutiny by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has many questions about the robotaxi plans. The NHTSA wants to know from the electric car manufacturer, among other things, how the vehicles are supposed to behave in emergency situations and how Tesla concluded that the robotaxi software is ready for use even without a human behind the wheel. The company, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has until June 19 to respond.

Musk had announced that Tesla would launch a robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, at the end of June with initially 10 to 20 vehicles. He claims that most of Tesla's new vehicles already have everything necessary on board to operate as self-driving cars. However, competitors and experts have doubts because Musk wants to rely solely on cameras and forgo the more expensive laser radars that other robotaxis use to scan the environment.

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Date: 08.12.2025

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