Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk‘s management style has come under scrutiny as the electric vehicle (EV) maker faces unexpected delays in Cybertruck deliveries. This has led to a critical investor questioning the leadership of the company.
What Happened: Ross Gerber, the CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, expressed his skepticism about Musk’s management style in light of the Cybertruck delivery delays. “Ever since he left Tesla and bought Twitter, basically nobody has been running the ship,” Gerber said in an interview with CNBC’s Last Call on Tuesday.
“I’m a skeptic of Elon Musk’s management style at this point,” Gerber said.
Earlier this month, Gerber had publicly criticized Musk’s behavior, blaming it for Tesla’s poor Q1 sales performance. Musk responded to these comments, expressing his fury at Gerber’s accusations. Musk reacted to Gerber’s criticism by labeling him an “idiot” and highlighting a sales decline at Chinese EV maker BYD Co. Ltd. BYDDY BYDDF, hinting that Tesla’s struggles were not unique.
On Feb. 13, Ross Gerber’s investment firm, Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, reported owning 377,918 shares of Tesla, which is a 5.09% decrease from their previous ownership, according to Fintel.
Why It Matters: The delay in Cybertruck deliveries is the latest in a series of challenges for Tesla. The company has also been dealing with weakening demand trends.
These developments have led to speculation about a potential leadership shift within Tesla, particularly following the departure of senior executives and the recent badge change of Tesla’s Director of Autopilot Software, Ashok Elluswamy.
Meanwhile, Musk has been indicating a strategic shift, recently laying off over 10% of the company’s global workforce. This move, coupled with Musk’s social media activity, has led to speculation that he is re-entering “wartime CEO” mode and refocusing the company on its robotaxi project.
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