- James Murdoch has testified that Elon Musk has identified a possible successor to Tesla’s CEO.
- Murdoch, a Tesla board member, made comments during the trial over Tesla’s compensation package against Musk.
- He didn’t specify who Musk had suggested, but said Musk had identified them in the past few months.
Elon Musk has proposed a potential successor who could serve as Tesla’s CEO, according to electric-car maker James Murdoch.
Murdoch said Wednesday in testimony at a trial in a shareholder lawsuit against Tesla and Musk over the CEO’s $50 billion compensation package.
Responding to a question about whether Musk has ever identified anyone as a potential successor, Murdoch said the billionaire has “actually identified,” but only “in the last few months.” is.
A Tesla spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment from insiders before the publication.
In a deposition reproduced at the trial, Murdoch said he never suggested that Musk might imminently leave Tesla or reduce his involvement. However, during his live testimony, Murdoch provided more information.
“Certainly, we had conversations during a really tough time here,” Murdoch said. “You know, there are conversations about his fatigue and other things like that, but never outright threats.”
Murdoch didn’t give any hint as to who Musk’s suggested successor was.
The billionaire has spent a lot of time working on Twitter in recent weeks. In an earlier testimony on Wednesday, Musk said he spent a lot of time on Twitter but would soon lose focus on his media company Social.
“There will be an initial burst of activity required to reorganize the company after the acquisition, but we will reduce the time thereafter. [committement] Go to Twitter and take the time to find someone to run Twitter,” Musk said.
In his testimony, Musk said he ultimately didn’t want to be CEO of any company, and that he sees himself more as an engineer than a businessman.
“My role as CEO at SpaceX and Tesla is that I drive the technology, not the CEO,” Musk said. “I am responsible for the rocket engineering and the car technology that makes it successful.”
Musk is facing a lawsuit from Tesla shareholder Richard Tornetta over a $50 billion Tesla compensation package. In the lawsuit, Tornetta alleges that Musk and the automaker violated their fiduciary duties by rewarding Musk “beyond the bounds of reasonable judgment.” Tesla claims the package was necessary to ensure Musk’s focus on Tesla.
