Tesla’s third-largest individual shareholder, Indonesian billionaire KoGuan Leo, has called for Elon Musk to step down as chief executive and find a replacement.
Leo owned approximately 22.6 million Tesla shares and 1.23 million stock options as of August, valued at approximately $3.4 billion, meaning Elon Musk and Larry Ellison are the only individual shareholders that own a larger proportion of the electric automaker.
While Leo has previously described himself as an “Elon fanboy,” he recently took to Twitter to slam the entrepreneur.
“Elon abandoned Tesla and Tesla has no working CEO,” he wrote. “Tesla needs and deserves to have working full-time CEO. What Tesla BOD (board of directors) should do, do nothing? Elon will find his own successor under BOD independent supervision.”
Read: Elon Musk Posts Video Of Alleged Stalker, Claims Man Climbed On Hood Of Car
“Tesla matters,” Leo added in a separate tweet. “Elon is a mere hired hands. He is our employee. Tesla is 19 year old, ranked 4th with 2.4% allocation in S&P, not a baby and soon be the biggest. Elon was the proud father, Tesla has grown up. An executioner, Tim Cook-like is needed, not Elon.”
Tesla investors have grown increasingly concerned about the car manufacturer ever since Musk purchased Twitter and began to divert his time to the social media network. Tesls shares have dropped 55 per cent this year, falling to as low as $155.88 per share, the lowest level since November 18, 2020, Reuters reports.
Despite this, Tesla bull Gary Black believes that Musk will make things right with Tesla investors.
“Elon is a brilliant business leader,” Black said. “He will realize soon (if not already) that his polarizing political views are hurting customer perceptions of $TSLA EVs. Customers don’t want their cars to be controversial. They want to be proud as hell to drive them – not embarrassed.”
