Musk Slams WSJ Over CEO Exit Rumours, Calls Report 'Extremely Unethical'

Elon Musk and Tesla’s board denied a WSJ report claiming the company was searching for his replacement, calling the article false and unethical.
The report alleged directors were concerned about Musk’s focus on the D.O.G.E. political project, prompting a push for public commitment to Tesla.
While Tesla stock dipped 3.5%, Dogecoin — which Tesla still accepts — rose over 5%, showing no signs of market concern tied to the rumors.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla’s board recently tapped executive search firms to explore CEO replacements, citing concerns over Musk’s increasing time spent on the Department of Government Efficiency —a political project conveniently abbreviated as D.O.G.E.

According to the report, directors confronted Musk and pushed him to publicly reaffirm his commitment to the company.

Tesla denied it outright. “This is absolutely false”, the company posted on X:

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.

Tesla

The market seems to agree. Dogecoin, the only crypto Tesla accepts, continues to trade without disruption. According to data from CoinGecko, DOGE is currently trading at US$0.182 (AU$0.29), a surge of over 5.2% during the day and 15% in the last two weeks.

DOGE was integrated into Tesla’s merchandise store in 2022, with direct wallet support and a native payment flow that hasn’t changed despite the noise or bear markets. Whatever’s happening behind closed doors, it’s not hitting the charts, at least not for Dogecoin.

It’s Not Only Musk Who Sees Issue with WSJ Reporting

However, Tesla’s stocks did take a small hit during today’s trading session, losing 3.5%, currently trading at US$280 (AU$438), according to Yahoo Finance. In the last six months, the stock has lost practically 40% of its value.

Musk isn’t alone in targeting the outlet. A lot of founders and executives in the digital asset industry have accused the WSJ of bias and sloppy reporting. For instance, former Binance CEO Changpeng (CZ) Zhao recently mocked a separate article alleging he planned to testify against TRON founder Justin Sun, stating:

They seem to have forgotten who went to prison and who didn’t.