- Investor Ross Gerber, a longtime Tesla supporter, is now calling for Elon Musk to step down as CEO, arguing that Musk’s focus on his White House role has led to Tesla’s neglect amid a sharp decline in its stock price. As Tesla faces political backlash and concerns over Musk’s divided attention, Gerber insists the company needs a dedicated leader to regain stability.
For more than a decade Ross Gerber’s wealth management business has backed EV maker Tesla under the leadership of Elon Musk.
But Gerber’s support has shifted in the recent years—even more so since Musk landed a White House job—and he is now calling on the world’s richest man to step aside.
While Gerber Kawasaki Wealth Management isn’t one of Tesla’s largest stakeholders (per an SEC fling it owns 262,352 shares as of February 2025, a small portion of the approximately 3.2 billion shares total) it does represent a significant stake in the investment company’s portfolio.
Valued at around $106 million, Gerber Kawasaki Wealth Management started selling Tesla shares in earnest in 2023.
Gerber has become something of a mouthpiece for Tesla shareholders who disagree with Musk’s leadership, having pushed for an activist board seat a couple of years ago.
But Gerber has, until now, been more of a critical friend to Musk than an outright opponent. Yet this week as Tesla’s stock price continues to fall, Gerber’s stance has shifted.
“There’s no question [Musk] has been committed to his job at the government, that’s where he’s spending his time. He is not running Tesla,” Gerber told Sky News. “I think Tesla needs a new CEO and I decided today I was going to start saying it… It’s time for somebody to run Tesla. The business has been neglected for too long.
“There are too many important things Tesla is doing, so either Elon should come back to Tesla and be the CEO of Tesla 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.”
At the time of writing Tesla’s share price is down 5% over the past five days, and down more than 50% from its peak in December.
“I think it’s time,” Gerber concluded.
Tesla did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Tesla’s troubles
The more embroiled Musk becomes in White House politics, the worse things seem to get for Tesla.
When Musk was merely an ally and political donor to the would-be President, Tesla’s shares surged to record highs. This was believed to be on account of President Trump shifting his stance on EVs, signaling analysts could an expect a friendly reception for Tesla if Trump won the Oval Office.
But Musk and Trump’s paths have continued to more closely intertwine, with those who oppose the President’s politics taking their fury out on Musk’s private companies.
This has included Molotov cocktails being thrown at Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas, gunshots fired at one of the carmaker’s showrooms in Portland, Ore., and company charging points set on fire in Boston.
Tesla customers are also returning their vehicles or canceling their leases in droves, with others sporting bumper stickers making it known they made the purchase before Musk began working with Trump and on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Not only is Musk causing problems from a political standpoint—a problem he is well aware of—critics are also questioning whether his focus and time is adequately allocated to the business worth $758 billion.
“We all make choices with our time and Elon doesn’t get more than 24 hours a day just because he’s Elon,” Gerber added. “We make choices, all of us do: Do we spend time with our family, do we go golfing, do we work?
“Elon chooses to work all the time but you can only work so many hours a day—it’s 24, and he sleeps.”
Even when Musk purchased Twitter in 2022, questions were asked about how thinly he was spread. Since then cause for concern has only increased: Musk also heads up Neuralink, xAI, and has overseen more frequent launches with SpaceX.
Previously Musk has addressed concern about his capacity, and the impact his work has on his wellbeing. Back in 2023—pre-White House—Musk admitted spinning so many plates was taking a toll. Responding to an X post that asked Musk to “keep safe and take care,” the
