Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / Who will replace Elon Musk?

Transcript

Who will replace Elon Musk? · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:00
  Welcome back to the. Elon Musk.
• 0:01
  Podcast the World's. Authority on.
• 0:03
  Tesla. SpaceX X Neurolink and.
• 0:06
  All things Elon, I'm your host, Will Walden.
• 0:09
  Thanks to our amazing community members like you, we've reached
• 0:12
  the top 15 of Spotify's video podcast, the Top 10 audio
• 0:17
  podcast on both Apple and Spotify for the tech.
• 0:20
  Category. So you all make this possible.
• 0:23
  If you want to support us more, check out our Patreon.
• 0:25
  That's patreon.com/stage 0 news, so we can keep this free and
• 0:31
  open for you to enjoy. Something interesting happened
• 0:36
  the other day. I was looking through our stats
• 0:38
  on Spotify and Apple Podcast and I noticed that about. 50. 5% of
• 0:44
  you are not subscribed to the show.
• 0:46
  That means 45% of you are subscribed and I really do
• 0:49
  appreciate your support. Now the.
• 0:51
  Other 55% of you are awesome, but I'm going to ask you for a.
• 0:56
  Favor, could you please hit the? Subscribe button.
• 0:58
  It'll take you one second. I'm going to promise you 10
• 1:01
  years of this podcast for free. No pay walls.
• 1:04
  I'm not going to charge you anything ever, but I'm going to
• 1:07
  give you 10 years of this show for free.
• 1:09
  I've already been doing it for five years, and I plan on doing
• 1:11
  it for 10 more. And the only way that we can
• 1:13
  continue doing this is with your support.
• 1:16
  So one second. Of your.
• 1:17
  Time to hit the. Subscribe button right now would
• 1:20
  help the show tremendously. Thank you so much.
• 1:24
  Tesla began this year under pressure.
• 1:27
  The company faced falling global demand, increased competition,
• 1:31
  and internal strain. The Wall Street Journal reported
• 1:34
  that Tesla's board initiated contact with executive search
• 1:37
  firms in early May. The stated goal was to explore
• 1:40
  potential replacements for Elon Musk.
• 1:42
  This story landed at a moment when Musk had just announced he
• 1:46
  would step back from leadership at his meme inspired crypto
• 1:49
  project DOGE. He claimed this decision was to
• 1:52
  refocus attention on Tesla, which only deepened speculation.
• 1:56
  But that report was met with forceful pushback.
• 1:59
  Tesla board chair Robin Denholm said the board maintained full
• 2:03
  confidence in Musk and flatly denied any effort to replace
• 2:07
  him. Elon Musk also denied the story
• 2:10
  outright. Tesla declined to respond to
• 2:12
  Business Insider's request for comment.
• 2:15
  Despite those denials, the question remains active.
• 2:18
  If Elon Musk left, who could take over?
• 2:21
  The question is not new. In 2022, during testimony over
• 2:25
  Musk's contested $55 billion compensation package, Tesla
• 2:29
  board member James Murdoch said Musk had named a possible
• 2:32
  successor. He didn't provide a name.
• 2:34
  That admission did not 'cause major concern at the time.
• 2:37
  But today, amid a difficult year, it feels more urgent.
• 2:40
  Musk has LED Tesla since 2008. During that time, he has become
• 2:45
  not just the public face of the company, but a figure investors
• 2:49
  consider inseparable from Tesla's valuation.
• 2:52
  Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster said Musk holds
• 2:56
  Tesla together and pushes it forward.
• 2:58
  He believes Musk is irreplaceable.
• 3:01
  Munster suggested Tesla's stock could fall 25% or more if Musk
• 3:05
  left. That figure reflects not just
• 3:08
  Musk's influence, but the perception that Tesla is still
• 3:11
  more than a car company. Bradley Tusk, A venture
• 3:14
  capitalist and political adviser, echoed that belief.
• 3:17
  He pointed to a key data point. Tesla's market capitalization
• 3:21
  remains larger than the combined total of the next nine biggest
• 3:24
  automakers. But in terms of unit sales,
• 3:28
  Tesla doesn't even crack the top 15.
• 3:30
  Tusk said the only explanation is investor faith in Musk.
• 3:33
  Without Musk, he said, Tesla would be viewed like any other
• 3:37
  automaker. That explains why replacing Musk
• 3:39
  would be so difficult. The company is structured around
• 3:42
  his presence. Analysts believe any replacement
• 3:45
  would need to come from within Tesla.
• 3:47
  Gene Munster said Tesla's internal culture resists
• 3:50
  outsiders. The company values disruption
• 3:53
  and favors people who understand its internal rhythm and
• 3:56
  operational speed. There are a few potential
• 3:58
  internal candidates. Tom Zhu, Tesla's senior vice
• 4:02
  president of automotive, leads that list.
• 4:05
  He helped scale Tesla's operations in China and now
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  overseas global automotive operations.
• 4:10
  Zhu was seen on the ground during major production pushes,
• 4:14
  and he's known for being hands on.
• 4:16
  He lives in a company dormitory, eats in the factory cafeteria
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  and models the kind of full immersion leadership Musk
• 4:22
  favors. Another candidate is Vaibhav
• 4:25
  Tunisia, Tesla's current chief financial officer.
• 4:28
  Tunisia assumed that role in 2023 after years of managing
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  financial operations within Tesla's demanding structure.
• 4:36
  His promotion came after Zachary Kirkhorn's departure, which
• 4:40
  surprised some investors. Tenaja had a long track record
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  inside Tesla and was trusted with maintaining fiscal control
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  at a time when margins were tightening due to global
• 4:50
  competition. 1/3 possibility is Omayyad Afshar, Elon Musk's
• 4:55
  former chief of staff. Afshar oversaw construction of
• 4:58
  the Texas Gigafactory, which became a key site for Model Y
• 5:02
  production and cyber truck development.
• 5:04
  Former Tesla employees described Afshar as a final checkpoint for
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  people trying to reach Musk. He acted as a filter enforcing
• 5:12
  Musk's priorities across departments.
• 5:14
  Seth Goldstein, an analyst at Morningstar, explained that
• 5:17
  Tesla's flat management structure gives division heads
• 5:20
  wide autonomy. This approach turns executives
• 5:23
  into semi independent operators. Goldstein said that in this
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  model, Tesla creates strong internal candidates without
• 5:30
  formally grooming them as successors.
• 5:32
  Leaders already manage critical functions with minimal
• 5:35
  oversight, which could ease a transition if needed.
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  Still, there's a difference between operating a unit and
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  steering the entire company. Tesla's mission, branding and
• 5:44
  public image are deeply tied to Musk.
• 5:47
  His behavior influences markets directly.
• 5:50
  A single post on X can move Tesla's stock or change how
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  customers perceive the brand. No internal candidate, no matter
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  how skilled, matches that level of public impact.
• 6:01
  Investors are keenly aware of this.
• 6:03
  Retail traders follow Musk as much as they follow the company.
• 6:06
  Institutional investors place value on his continued
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  involvement. Tesla's valuation includes an
• 6:12
  Elon premium, an intangible asset tied to his presence.
• 6:15
  Removing Musk doesn't just create an operational gap, it
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  changes the identity of Tesla. That's why analysts think Musk
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  will stay in some capacity even if he ever gives up the CEO
• 6:25
  title. Gene Munster said he doubts Musk
• 6:28
  would ever fully exit Tesla. Instead, he expects Musk to
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  maintain strategic control while installing a loyal executive to
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  handle daily operations. This would preserve investor
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  confidence and allow Musk to refocus on his other companies
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  without causing panic. Tesla's dependency on Musk
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  raises questions about long term stability.
• 6:47
  No company can hinge its future on a single individual
• 6:50
  indefinitely. Succession planning is not just
• 6:53
  about who replaces Musk, but about whether Tesla can exist
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  independently of him. As Tesla grows, it needs a
• 7:00
  structure that can function without crisis if Musk steps
• 7:03
  away. This story matters because Tesla
• 7:06
  effects millions of people, from shareholders and employees to
• 7:10
  customers and partners. Tesla's choices shape the future
• 7:14
  of electric vehicles and energy products.
• 7:17
  A leadership transition would ripple across supply chains, job
• 7:20
  markets, and consumer expectations.
• 7:23
  The company also serves as a case study for personality
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  driven corporate growth. Investors have rewarded Tesla
• 7:29
  not just for innovation, but for spectacle.
• 7:32
  That model raises risk. If Tesla cannot transition
• 7:35
  leadership without damaging its stock or morale, then its growth
• 7:38
  has been built on unstable foundations.
• 7:40
  Another reason this story matters is because it touches on
• 7:43
  corporate governance. Tesla has faced questions about
• 7:46
  board independence, executive pay, and transparency.
• 7:49
  The Musk succession issue ties into all of these.
• 7:53
  Boards that fail to prepare for CEO transitions increase
• 7:56
  vulnerability to shocks. The denial of the CEO search
• 7:59
  report may be true, or it may be a strategic delay.
• 8:03
  Musk's central role at Tesla is undeniable, but history shows
• 8:07
  that even the most iconic CE OS eventually leave.
• 8:11
  The companies that survive long term are the ones that plan
• 8:14
  ahead. Whether Tesla is doing that
• 8:16
  remains unclear. The current speculation about
• 8:19
  Musk's future reflects concern, not fantasy.
• 8:23
  Tesla's performance this year has opened real questions.
• 8:27
  The stock is down. Sales have weakened.
• 8:29
  Public trust in long term planning is thin.
• 8:32
  A transition, even a hypothetical 1, feels more real
• 8:36
  than ever. I want to say thank you so much
• 8:39
  for tuning into the show today. I really.
• 8:42
  Do appreciate your support. If you could take a second and
• 8:44
  hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
• 8:47
  platform that you're listening on right now, I greatly
• 8:50
  appreciate it. It helps out the show
• 8:52
  tremendously. And you'll.
• 8:53
  Never miss an episode and each episode is about 10 minutes or
• 8:57
  less to get you caught up. Quickly.
• 9:00
  And please, if you want to support the show even more, go
• 9:02
  to patreon.com/stage Zero and please take care of yourselves
• 9:08
  and each other and I'll see you tomorrow.