How Much Time Will Musk Devote to Tesla?

Elon Musk joked yesterday that he often wears multiple hats, as in multiple roles. Can he devote the time needed to fixing Tesla?Credit…Pete Marovich for The New York Times

Musk or not, Tesla’s challenges remain

Tesla shareholders appear relieved that Elon Musk seems set to stay on as C.E.O., after the automaker’s chair denied a report that the board had explored finding his successor. Company shares are up in premarket trading.

But even if Musk — who has said he’s dialing back his government cost-cutting work — is sticking around, the company still faces operational and competitive challenges. And then there’s the question of how much time he can still devote to Tesla, and whether his plans for the company will work out, though Musk has a track record of proving his critics wrong time and again.

What Tesla is disputing: The Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla’s board had reached out to executive search firms about a month ago to work out a formal C.E.O. succession process. At the time, Musk was consumed with his work in Washington and Tesla’s sales and profits were dropping.

A statement posted on X attributed to Robyn Denholm, Tesla’s chair, called the report “absolutely false,” adding, “The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the Board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead.”

Musk staying on doesn’t change the difficult position Tesla is in. Shares in the company have plunged sharply since December and remain volatile (though they’re still outperforming the S&P 500). Executives last week largely chalked up a 71 percent year-on-year drop in first-quarter earnings to retooling Model Y assembly lines. But the company faces growing competition, especially from lower-cost Chinese rivals, and a likely hit from tariffs.