An early investor in Tesla has called for Elon Musk to stand down amid fears his closeness to Donald Trump is harming the business.
With shares down 50 per cent since peaking three months ago, Ross Gerber said the electric car maker’s reputation has been ‘destroyed’ by its ‘divisive’ chief executive.
He suggested Musk has too much on with his work at the US president’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) and his jobs at Tesla, social media platform X, rocket company Space X and beyond.
‘I think Tesla needs a new CEO,’ Gerber told Sky News. ‘It’s time for somebody to run Tesla. The business has been neglected for too long.’
He added: ‘There are too many important things Tesla is doing, so either Elon should come back and give up his other jobs, or he should focus on the government and keep doing what he is doing but find a suitable CEO of Tesla.’
The investor, who is co-founder and boss of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, said Tesla is ‘absolutely’ in crisis having seen its shares halve in value since mid-December.
Protests: With shares down 50% in three months, Tesla Investor Ross Gerber said the electric car maker’s reputation has been ‘destroyed’ by its ‘divisive’ billionaire chief exec
That has wiped £600billion off its value and £120billion off Musk’s fortune.
It has been hit by falling sales amid a backlash over Musk’s forays into politics in the US and Europe and stiff competition – particularly from China.
Musk’s job at Doge has attracted public anger over cuts to federal government staff.
‘The company’s reputation has just been destroyed by Elon Musk,’ said Gerber.
‘Sales are plummeting, so yeah, it’s a crisis. You literally can’t sell the best product in the marketplace because the CEO is so divisive.’
Chinese rival BYD this week claimed a major breakthrough that could give it the edge over Tesla and other competitors.
The company said that it can fill its car batteries in lightning-fast speed, by charging from 10 per cent of capacity to 80 per cent in just five minutes.
That gives around 250 miles of range in the time it takes to fill up a tank with petrol.
Gerber was an early investor in Tesla, and his wealth management company owns about £80million of stock.