London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Nov 17, 2025

Elon Musk: 'I don't want to be CEO of anything'

Elon Musk: 'I don't want to be CEO of anything'

Elon Musk reiterated on Friday that he doesn't want to be Space X or Tesla boss. What's going on?
Tesla doesn't have a press office.


Its CEO, Elon Musk, says the company doesn't need one.

Instead, in a similar way to Donald Trump, he uses Twitter rather than press releases to communicate.

And on Friday, he was in full Elon Musk tweet mode.

A new book is coming out about the Tesla CEO. One story is that in 2016 - when Tesla was in trouble - Musk reached out to Apple's Tim Cook, who he thought might want to buy the company.

The story goes that Elon Musk insisted that as part of the deal, he be made CEO of Apple. Tim Cook told him where to go.

Without a press office to comment on the story, I asked Musk on Twitter whether this was true.

He responded:


But it was a follow up tweet that was particularly revealing


Elon Musk said something similar last month whilst giving evidence in court.

Talking about being CEO of Tesla, he said: "I rather hate it and I would much prefer to spend my time on design and engineering."

He also gave a reason for why he continues to be Tesla boss: "I have to or, frankly, Tesla is going to die."

That he is repeatedly saying he doesn't want to be CEO will worry some investors. Love him or loathe him, Musk's vision and force of personality has driven Tesla's incredible success.

Tesla is by far the most valuable car company in the world.

And yet it is striking that running that company isn't enough for Musk.

He's the boss of Space X - which was in April awarded a contract by NASA to put people onto the moon.

He also founded The Boring Company in 2016, which aims to revolutionise travel through advances in tunnelling technology. Perhaps tellingly, he is not CEO.

Musk gives the impression of a man trapped. He is clearly excited by ideas, innovation, engineering - the exciting start up part of a company.

But the transition from start up to large company turns the CEO position into a very different beast.

Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Microsoft's Bill Gates were all visionaries.

The current CEOs of those companies are very different people. Apple's Tim Cook, Google's Sundar Pichai and Microsoft's Satya Nadella are more than capable leaders. But few would describe them as revolutionaries.

Elon Musk on the other hand projects the image of a swashbuckling entrepreneur. You get the feeling that the often administrative process of running a company does not excite him.

Along with tremendous growth, the Tesla boss has caused all sorts of headaches for Tesla shareholders.

He is currently being sued by shareholders who claim the carmaker's money was wasted on buying SolarCity, which - they say - was running out of money.

At the time of the deal, Mr Musk owned a 22% stake in both Tesla and SolarCity.

And in 2018 he agreed to step down as Tesla Chairman after tweeting that he was considering taking Tesla off the stock market and into private ownership.

Elon Musk may be the second richest person on the planet, but, strangely, he doesn't feel he has the freedom to do what he wants.

He's living proof that you're never too wealthy to be stuck in a job you don't like.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Popeyes UK Eyes Century Mark as Fried-Chicken Chain Accelerates Roll-out
Two-thirds of UK nurses report working while unwell amid staffing crisis
Britain to Reform Human-Rights Laws in Sweeping Asylum Policy Overhaul
Nearly Half of Job Losses Under Labour Government Affect UK Youth
UK Chancellor Reeves Eyes High-Value Home Levy in Budget to Raise Tens of Billions
UK Urges Poland to Choose Swedish Submarines in Multi-Billion € Defence Bid
US Border Czar Tom Homan Declares UK No Longer a ‘Friend’ Amid Intelligence Rift
UK Announces Reversal of Income Tax Hike Plans Ahead of Budget
Starmer Faces Mounting Turmoil as Leaked Briefings Ignite Leadership Plot Rumours
UK Commentator Sami Hamdi Returns Home After US Visa Revocation and Detention
UK Eyes Denmark-Style Asylum Rules in Major Migration Shift
UK Signals Intelligence Freeze Amid US Maritime Drug-Strike Campaign
TikTok Awards UK & Ireland 2025 Celebrates Top Creators Including Max Klymenko as Creator of the Year
UK Growth Nearly Stalls at 0.1% in Q3 as Cyberattack Halts Car Production
Apple Denied Permission to Appeal UK App Store Ruling, Faces Over £1bn Liability
UK Chooses Wylfa for First Small Modular Reactors, Drawing Sharp U.S. Objection
Starmer Faces Growing Labour Backlash as Briefing Sparks Authority Crisis
Reform UK Withdraws from BBC Documentary Amid Legal Storm Over Trump Speech Edit
UK Prime Minister Attempts to Reassert Authority Amid Internal Labour Leadership Drama
UK Upholds Firm Rules on Stablecoins to Shield Financial System
Brussels Divided as UK-EU Reset Stalls Over Budget Access
Prince Harry’s Remembrance Day Essay Expresses Strong Regret at Leaving Britain
UK Unemployment Hits 5% as Wage Growth Slows, Paving Way for Bank of England Rate Cut
Starmer Warns of Resurgent Racism in UK Politics as He Vows Child-Poverty Reforms
UK Grocery Inflation Slows to 4.7% as Supermarkets Launch Pre-Christmas Promotions
UK Government Backs the BBC amid Editing Scandal and Trump Threat of Legal Action
UK Assessment Mis-Estimated Fallout From Palestine Action Ban, Records Reveal
UK Halts Intelligence Sharing with US Amid Lethal Boat-Strike Concerns
King Charles III Leads Britain in Remembrance Sunday Tribute to War Dead
UK Retail Sales Growth Slows as Households Hold Back Ahead of Black Friday and Budget
Shell Pulls Out of Two UK Floating Wind Projects Amid Renewables Retreat
Viagogo Hit With £15 Million Tax Bill After HMRC Transfer-Pricing Inquiry
Jaguar Land Rover Cyberattack Pinches UK GDP, Bank of England Says
UK and Germany Sound Alarm on Russian-Satellite Threat to Critical Infrastructure
Former Prince Andrew Faces U.S. Congressional Request for Testimony Amid Brexit of Royal Title
BBC Director-General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness Resign Amid Editing Controversy
Tom Cruise Arrives by Helicopter at UK Scientology Fundraiser Amid Local Protests
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Face Fresh UK Probes Amid Royal Fallout
Mothers Link Teen Suicides to AI Chatbots in Growing Legal Battle
UK Government to Mirror Denmark’s Tough Immigration Framework in Major Policy Shift
UK Government Turns to Denmark-Style Immigration Reforms to Overhaul Border Rules
UK Chancellor Warned Against Cutting Insulation Funding as Budget Looms
UK Tenant Complaints Hit Record Levels as Rental Sector Faces Mounting Pressure
Apple to Pay Google About One Billion Dollars Annually for Gemini AI to Power Next-Generation Siri
UK Signals Major Shift as Nuclear Arms Race Looms
BBC’s « Celebrity Traitors UK » Finale Breaks Records with 11.1 Million Viewers
UK Spy Case Collapse Highlights Implications for UK-Taiwan Strategic Alignment
On the Road to the Oscars? Meghan Markle to Star in a New Film
A Vote Worth a Trillion Dollars: Elon Musk’s Defining Day
AI Researchers Claim Human-Level General Intelligence Is Already Here
×