'Elon abandoned Tesla': Billionaire shareholder calls on Musk to step down as CEO
Published on Dec 20, 2022 at 7:59 AM (UTC-5)
by Kate Bain
Last updated on Dec 20, 2022 at 7:59 AM (UTC-5)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Elon Musk is facing yet more pressure to step down as CEO.
But this time it’s coming from Tesla, not Twitter.
Tesla’s third-largest shareholder has publicly slammed Elon Musk, calling for him to step down from the top job.
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Indonesian billionaire KoGuan Leo took to Twitter this week to say Tesla deserved more.
“Elon abandoned Tesla and Tesla has no working CEO,” he said.
“Tesla needs and deserves to have a working full-time CEO.
“What Tesla BOD (board of directors) should do, do nothing?”
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KoGuan Leo went on to say “Tesla matters” and it was time for the controversial businessman to move on.
“Elon is a mere hired hands. He is our employee,” he said.
“Tesla is 19-years-old… Elon was the proud father [but] Tesla has grown up.”
Leo said the EV company needed someone similar to Apple CEO Tim Cook to take over.
Leo owns more than 22 million Tesla shares and 1.23 million stock options valued at almost $3.5 billion.
This means he is the third largest stakeholder behind American business magnate Larry Ellison and Elon Musk himself.
Tesla shares
Musk has been under the microscope ever since he dropped $44 billion on the social media platform Twitter in October this year.
With investors growing increasingly worried about his $44 billion purchase, Tesla shares have fallen by over 55 percent.
Musk himself sold 22 million Tesla shares for $3.58 billion this week.
It was the fourth time the entrepreneur dropped Tesla stock this year.
He sold almost $4 billion of Tesla stock in November after he purchased Twitter.
Before that, he sold $8.5 billion in April and $6.9 billion in August, in order to raise cash for the Twitter acquisition.
Twitter controversy
Musk is not only facing pressure to step down as the CEO of Tesla, but also Twitter.
The billionaire took to the social media platform on Sunday to publish a poll asking ‘should I step down as head of Twitter?’.
Musk said he would “abide by the results”, meaning the decision was in the hands of Twitter’s 329 million users.
When the poll closed on Monday, 57 percent voted ‘yes’, that he should in fact step down as CEO.
Whether or not Musk does “abide by the results” is yet to be seen.
Kate is Head of Editorial at SB Media Group, overseeing all content on the site. She has more than 10 years’ experience as a journalist and news editor, having worked across a range of major publications including News Corp, Daily Mail Australia, and Sky News. Kate holds a Bachelor of Business Management from University of Queensland and a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism from Queensland University of Technology. With 6 years in automotive journalism, she is passionate about discovering the best the industry has to offer and sharing it with readers around the globe. She has been with Supercar Blondie since 2020 and played a key role in establishing supercarblondie.com as a leading automotive news destination.
