‘Elon Musk destroyed Tesla’s reputation’, company investor demands to choose new CEO

New Delhi| Ross Gerber, a longtime investor in Tesla, has publicly called for Elon Musk to resign as CEO. Gerber argues that Trump’s role in the White House, in particular, is causing him to be distracted, which is leading the company to crisis.

Gerber Kawasaki Wealth Management CEO Gerber told Sky News, “There is no doubt that they (Musk) are committed to their work in government”. This is where he is spending his time. He’s not driving a Tesla. I think Tesla needs a new CEO. Business has been ignored for too long.”

For more than a decade, Gerber Kawasaki has invested in Tesla under Musk’s leadership. Despite not being among Tesla’s largest shareholders-as of February 2025 he owns 262,352 shares of the company. His firm has been steadily reducing its stake in Tesla since 2023. Ross Gerber, a vocal supporter of the company’s board changes, has begun criticizing Musk. Opposition to Musk has increased after his involvement in White House activities.

“Tesla is doing a lot of important work, so either Elon should get back to Tesla and become Tesla’s CEO and give up his other engagements or else he should focus on the government and keep doing the work he’s doing, but find a suitable CEO for Tesla”, he told the outlet.

Tesla shares continue to fall. Shares have fallen by five percent in the last five days. The company’s shares have fallen more than 50 percent since December’s peak. As such, Gerber says that a change of leadership is necessary.

He further argued that Musk’s involvement with Twitter (now X) has distracted him since and Tesla has received a negative publicity from it. “The company’s reputation has been destroyed by Elon Musk”, he said. Sales are declining, so yes, it is a time of crisis. You literally can’t sell the best product on the market because the CEO is distracted”