EXCLUSIVE: Ross Gerber Is Very Bullish On Tesla, Very Bearish On Elon Musk — 'Our Clients Hate Him Now'

Ross Gerber, founder and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management and longtime Tesla Inc TSLA bull, continues to be optimistic about the future of Tesla, but he believes Elon Musk needs to stay in his lane and get out of his own way. 

"Tesla is one of the most innovative and impactful companies of our time that now has a CEO who goes out every week and destroys his reputation," Gerber said Tuesday on "Benzinga Live." 

What To Know: When Tesla shares traded down near the $100 level amid worsening market conditions, a series of price cuts and investor concerns that Musk was spending too much time on Twitter, Gerber upped his position.

He recently trimmed his stake as the stock is up nearly 50% year-to-date, and he sticks to an 8.5% maximum allocation, but he's also concerned about the Tesla CEO turned "Chief Twit."

Related Link: Tesla Battles This Indicator As It Moves Higher: Bulls Want To See Continued Momentum

"We're very bullish on Tesla, very bearish on Elon. And unfortunately this is affecting people's perception of Tesla's products and services and, you know, so I think that's the biggest risk now," Gerber said.

Following Musk's Twitter takeover, concerns floated around that the Tesla CEO was not as focused on the EV company as he should be. Musk has also been seemingly polarizing with his tweets since acquiring the social media platform. 

Despite that, Gerber believes the EV maker continues to perform rather well and he sees several goals on the horizon that, if met, should help drive shares higher, including full self-driving, increased battery production and the Cybertruck release. 

See Also: Jim Cramer Says Buy Ford Stock 'Hand Over Fist' After Tesla Analyst Calls Cybertruck A 'Cult Car'

"It's a crucial transitionary year for Tesla, but if they're successful with these themes this year ... '24 looks amazing for them, so we're bullish on Tesla. It's really just about the volatility that's caused because the CEO works at Twitter."

He's not calling for Musk to be replaced at Tesla, but rather for him to step back from the social platform he acquired for $44 billion last year. 

"Our clients hate him now, you know, people want to sell their stock because of him," Gerber said.

"He's becoming like the Henry Ford of our time unfortunately and this is not a good thing ... when you're attacking disabled people and then supporting treasonists — basically — Nazis, you know, you're really not doing a great job selling electric vehicles."

See the full interview with the longtime Tesla investor below:

TSLA Price Action: Tesla has a 52-week high of $384.29 and a 52-week low of $101.81, according to Benzinga Pro.

Tesla shares were up 4.12% at $181.71 at the time of writing.

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