Tesla Investor Calls for Elon Musk to Step Down as CEO After 'Destroying' Its Reputation: 'Yeah, It's a Crisis'

An early Tesla investor is publicly calling for Elon Musk to step down as CEO, arguing that Musk's focus on his role as adviser to President Donald Trump has put Tesla in crisis.

Ross Gerber, the co-founder, president and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, criticized Musk's leadership at Tesla following his appointment as head of DOGE, saying the billionaire's attention has been spread too thin.

"It's time for somebody to run Tesla. The business has been neglected for too long," Gerber told Sky News, arguing that Musk should either give up his other jobs or appoint a suitable CEO at Tesla. "I think Tesla needs a new CEO and I decided today I was going to start saying it."

Gerber confessed that Musk's DOGE appointment was among several reasons he recently sold off a substantial portion of his Tesla shares. He cited declining EV demand, rising competition from China and Tesla's plummeting stock price as challenges requiring the full attention of Tesla's CEO.

Another challenge, Gerber asserted, is the negative publicity brought on the company by Musk himself.

"You literally can't sell the best product in the market place because the CEO is so divisive," he said, referencing Musk's social media posts and work with the president.

"The company's reputation has just been destroyed by Elon Musk," he continued. "Sales are plummeting so, yeah, it's a crisis."

As stock prices plunge and Tesla dealerships and vehicles are targeted with arson and vandalism around the world, Musk has so far chosen not to distance himself from the company, but to strengthen the link between Tesla, himself and the Trump administration.

Acts against Tesla have been referred to as "terrorism" by Musk and the Trump administration, with Trump himself publicly purchasing a Tesla at the White House. Musk has branded his companies as extensions of himself, and his brand as saving humanity.

Musk has repeatedly expressed a desire to save humanity, prioritizing his focus based on his view of the best way to do so: electric cars at Tesla, interplanetary habitats at SpaceX and defending the First Amendment at Twitter. He has claimed he became involved in politics because he believes "America is at stake."

"He likes this notion of helping humanity," Walter Isaacson, who authored Elon Musk's biography, told CNN. "In fact, he has more empathy for humanity in general than he often has for the 20 people around him."

Originally published on Latin Times