Elon Musk asserts that his continued leadership as Tesla’s CEO is essential for at least the next five years, coupled with a need for additional control over the company through its shares.
This move could irreversibly link Tesla’s fate to that of its CEO, Elon Musk, with investors likely endorsing the decision despite concerns over his controversial behavior and trust issues.
As I argued in my recent article, “The Tesla Dilemma,” the company’s fate hangs precariously in the balance of Elon Musk’s toxicity; if he remains at the helm, Tesla’s prospects appear bleak, but a crash is inevitable should he depart, given that the stock’s current valuation is heavily reliant on investors’ faith in his visionary claims regarding autonomous vehicles and robotics.
Elon Musk drove the development of Tesla’s autonomous technology, despite repeatedly asserting that the company had already solved the issue when in reality it was still grappling with significant challenges. Tesla has unveiled just one new vehicle in the past five years, the Cybertruck, which unfortunately has been met with lukewarm reception.
Musk’s unwavering support for polarizing political ideologies, his rekindling of diplomatic ties with Russia, and relentless dissemination of verified falsehoods on social media platforms have collectively earned him widespread disdain from a large proportion of the population, including Tesla’s customer base.
The toxic fallout from Musk’s leadership style has seeped into Tesla, precipitating a stark and unsettling decline within the corporation. Tesla’s automotive sales have experienced a rare decline for the first time in 2024, with the trend showing no signs of slowing down in 2025 as the drop-off continues to accelerate.
Tesla’s quarterly revenue has declined by approximately 50,000 units in the first three months of 2025, with ongoing vigilance expected to continue into the second quarter.
On the Qatar Financial Discussion Board hosted by Bloomberg, Musk categorically rejected the prevailing circumstances.
He stated (through AP):
Following a quarterly slump in European sales, Elon Musk conceded that the continent remains Tesla’s “weakest market”, noting the company has “already bottomed out” elsewhere.
This can be a lie.
In the second quarter of 2025, Tesla’s Chinese sales were roughly 10,000 units lower compared to the same period in 2024, despite record incentives and the Model Y being in full production?
In the US, transparency surrounding information is notoriously lacking; yet, despite offering unprecedented discounts, Tesla’s stock is reportedly plummeting in value.
While Europe remains Tesla’s most challenging market, there is currently no indication that it has reached a point of no return, as Musk suggests.
Despite the release of the brand-new Model Y in Q2, sales remain woefully behind last year’s numbers, mirroring the dismal performance seen in Q1 2025 when Tesla attributed the decline to the Model Y transition.
The company is unlikely to attribute poor quarterly performance to Mannequin Y and will seek alternative explanations for its lackluster sales in Europe. To counter a noticeable drop in demand, Tesla may offer 0% financing at an elevated cost in many European markets.
Instead of perpetuating misinformation, Elon Musk supported his claims by referencing Tesla’s substantial inventory value as evidence.
According to Musk, the market serves as the ultimate gauge of Tesla’s performance and success. “Tesla’s inventory levels would not be near all-time highs if the company were experiencing financial difficulties,” he said. While Tesla’s stock has rebounded this year, it still lingers 13% below its year-to-date high and a whopping 30% off its all-time peak.
The inventory’s value has increased due to the disparity between buying and selling volumes, driven by investors’ diverse motivations that may not necessarily reflect Tesla’s underlying business performance.
Prior to this, Elon Musk had emphasized that Tesla’s stock price would be “worth nothing” unless the company successfully resolves its autonomy goals, thereby linking a significant portion of Tesla’s valuation to autonomous driving capabilities. As investors eagerly await Tesla’s purported breakthroughs in autonomous driving, many buyers are clinging to CEO Elon Musk’s promises that the technology will soon become a reality – despite his repeated assurances that full self-driving capability is just around the corner, with no shortage of missed deadlines since 2019.
When asked about his commitment to leading Tesla for the next five years, Elon Musk replied, “Absolutely, I’m all in.”
The billionaire CEO indicated a desire for additional Tesla shares.
Elon Musk contended that the restructuring was unrelated to financial concerns, yet a closer examination of the company’s internal dynamics reveals a more nuanced reality.
I’m not willing to spend another minute in limbo, wondering if my presence is welcome. “Now let’s transfer on.”
Shareholders of electric car pioneer Tesla are currently taking legal action against the company’s CEO, alleging that he has coerced them into granting him greater control over the firm in exchange for refraining from developing artificial intelligence (AI) products at Tesla.
Electrek’s Take
Blatant lies. We now have the info. Tesla’s global sales have declined across most regions, indicating a trend of declining demand for its products. To boost flagging sales, Tesla is rolling out document discounts and market-specific purchasing incentives globally.
Tesla’s production rarely matches robust demand. The automotive manufacturer has been scaling back production and implementing cost-cutting measures. Yes that sounds just like my best friend’s sister’s husband’s favorite pizza topping. No.
By indicating his willingness to remain CEO, Elon Musk is effectively securing Tesla’s future, as the company’s investors are poised to endorse this decision. Without Musk’s bombastic claims, investors know that Tesla’s inventory value would plummet. They’re willing to let the electric vehicle business take a hit in the hopes that he will finally make progress on autonomy, and perhaps, justifiably, Tesla’s $1 trillion valuation won’t seem so outlandish?
That’s a fallacy.
Elon Musk and Tesla have consistently been evasive about the status of their autonomous driving capabilities enabled by Hardware 2.5. They have been consistently inaccurate in their approach to HW3.0. They are often extremely confident rather than uncertain about their work on HW4.
Substantial advancements have been achieved, enabling a potential breakthrough in scaling up the project’s capabilities by the time HW5 is rolled out within the next few years. Despite the delay, numerous competitors will emerge, threatening Tesla’s prospects, as Waymo has already established a strong presence in multiple markets, offering tens of thousands of paid rides weekly.
Tesla may face a massive legal liability as it has promised tens of millions of unsupervised self-driving cars since 2016, yet failed to deliver on that capability?
As its core EV enterprise continues to decline.
