Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 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

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×