Former General Motors executive Bob Lutz, who has been far from kind about Tesla’s future, believes the time has come for current CEO Elon Musk to step down. Lutz gave his reasonings in a new interview with CNBC last Friday.
He said, “I can’t imagine any sound investor who has money in the company or any independent board member would want him to remain as CEO in light of recent performance.”
Musk recently spoke with the New York Times and explained his personal hardships as he’s worked to push Tesla Model 3 production. He told the publication of his personal struggles and said the past year has been “excruciating.”
“He’s obviously got some emotional problems. He’s self-medicating. He has shown some disturbing signs of being somewhat volatile and unstable,” Lutz added.
Lutz has sounded off on Tesla numerous times in the past and proclaimed the company will go broke in the near future while calling its current operations unsustainable.
With respect, the former GM executive said Musk should remain the “visionary” behind the company and “keep him as the titular head of the company, and give him the honor and respect the founder of the company deserves.” But, he summarized that Tesla needs professional management and “it needs it now.”
Comments
Yes Tesla at this point needs a strong leader with a MFG background to get the 3 up and spot on.
Until they fix the quality issues and the production delays Tesla will continue to fall from grace.
Musks latest claim of a $25k car on top of a sports car, pick up and semi is just crazy talk when you can not assemble the car yoy promised how many years ago at a much lower price than you could ever deliver.
Remember HFII selfi medicated in control of Ford in the 70’s and we got the Pinto, Mustang II and Granada.
Musk needs to drop the rhetoric and just produce cars. Right now he is unable to do that.
The best selling point he can make is to put 3 models on the street and that is a greater true statement than he could ever make. Results speak not dreamy promises you could never deliver.
PR in an effort to raise money.
PR is fine but you need to use it with great measure.
Making big promises for product that is dependent on a car that they can’t get out the door and what ones that have are suffering defects even GM did not suffer in their darkest times.
Bumpers falling off in the rain? That is so Yugo.
tesla can not make money on $100,000+ cars how can it make money on $35,000 cars ??
Has everyone forgotten what happened to Apple after Steve Jobs was ousted by the “conservative” Pepsi guy?
Elon is the heart and spirit of the company that he founded. Nobody can know what’s best for Tesla than Elon. Steve Jobs is quoted as being totally disinterested in how Apple stock performed day-to-day or even month-to-month because at the end of the quarter, real investors — not high-frequency traders looking to flip a quick dollar — know the value of the company, which is found in it’s leadership, it’s designers/ engineers, and it’s products.
Lutz is a dinosaur trying to sabotage Elon and a new generation of transportation and energy that Elon represents!
There is a big difference here.
Jobs was the heart, soul and ego of Apple just as Mr Musk. But the major difference is Mr Jobs knew his limitations.
He knew Apple was not a MFG and did not try to be. Their products are developed in house by their tech staff, tested and then sent to a third part mfg to assemble them for Apple.
Tesla is a Tech company trying to be a MFG in one of the most difficult industries to do it in.
Tesla has two options. One send production to another MFG and let them build the cars while your staff continues to develop them. Might even turn sales over to someone else.
The second option is turn Tesla into a company that develops technology for cars and sells the license to use it other Auto !akers who can not afford to develop it them selves which is about half the industry.
Mr Musk is a great promoter and idea guy but when failures stack up to meet the talk it all turns to just a BS er that is full of crap.
Musk may be the Jim Jones of Wall St as he feeds his share holders Kool Aid to take them with him.
Methinks that Tesla lives of the Elon Musk myth, the legend of the man who gets in and revolutionizes every industry, even if he delivers solutions for problems which do not exist (Paypal eg, except maybe for the USA which didn know any thing rational of payment systems instead of moving checks back and forth).
Elon Musk is also behind Space X, if I am not confusing several people.
Elon Musk believes, or at least did believe, that he could revolutionize automobile production, but that proved to be beyond his capacities. He finally hit the brick wall.
But Tesla without Musk? The mythical aura is missing…
“… Mr Jobs knew his limitations.”
Obviously that statement exposes your ignorance of the man, who challenged every perceived “limitation.”
What made Steve Jobs the man we remember today was his tenacity to break those “limitations.” Musk is breaking similar world views today both with Tesla and SpaceX, just as he did in the field of commerce with PayPal.
Let me say it again: Lutz is a dinosaur trying to sabotage Elon and the new generation that Elon represents!
I agree with you. Bob is a fart on the wind, moments from fading away. Bob, if I’m correct was with GM awhile they asked for a bailout.. correct..? Yes. Bob Luts can go **** himself. People like him, are why Tesla is going to go Private. Tesla has more value than the typical shareholder can see. Everyone on this blog is biased, and full of hate. Tesla will provail.