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Elon Musk isn’t leaving Tesla, but admits ‘nobody should be CEO forever’
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s 18-year post at the electric automaker is far from over, but “nobody should be CEO forever,” he said during the Q4 2020 Earnings Call on Wednesday.
Musk was confronted with the question of if he were to ever step down as CEO, a plan that he entailed several years ago after Tesla started producing a mass-market vehicle. Now that Tesla has two of them, Ben Kallo, an analyst with Baird, asked Musk whether that plan was still intact, but Musk was adamant that his time with the automaker is far from up.
“I expect to be CEO of Tesla for several years,” Musk remarked in response to the question. “So I think there’s still a lot that I’m super excited about doing. And I think it would be hard to leave.”
Musk’s tenure at Tesla has been tumultuous, to say the least. Although it has had a successful 12 months, exploding on Wall Street, offering a new mass-market car, and unveiling several new developments to both its vehicle and energy product fleet, Tesla’s story is truly one of triumph.
In 2008, the company was nearly bankrupt. Begging money from investors, Musk had a Christmas miracle occur when funds poured in from believers in the company. It would take two more years for Tesla to launch its IPO on its common stock, and another two years for the Model S sedan to be released. Tesla didn’t enter the mass-market production phase until 2017 when the Model 3 became its first widely-affordable car. Even then, the problems didn’t stop. Musk refers to the early days of Model 3 manufacturing as “production hell,” and although it resulted in Tesla’s upward surge into automotive legend, it was still an extremely stressful time.
“Sheer magnitude of the entire production system is hard to appreciate,” Musk told Teslarati. “Almost every element of production is >75% automated. Only wire harnesses & general assembly, which are <10% of production costs, are primarily manual.”
Sheer magnitude of the entire production system is hard to appreciate. Almost every element of production is >75% automated. Only wire harnesses & general assembly, which are <10% of production costs, are primarily manual.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 12, 2020
But even with the low times, Musk’s tenure at Tesla has been great, and he doesn’t want it to end because of the projects the company continues to work on every day.
“I love these great projects halfway or part of the way done. So I do expect to be running the company for several years into the future,” Musk stated. “Now obviously, nobody is or should be CEO forever. So I don’t expect to be — like the sheer amount of work required to be CEO of Tesla is insane.”
Musk admits his CEO role is likely much different than others. He is more hands-on and contributes to Tesla’s day to day operations. Musk has been known to join manufacturing lines at the end of quarters to help reach production goals. With several children and a newborn baby, it has to be a thought of Musk’s to take a step back eventually. “It would be nice to have a bit more free time on my hands as opposed to just working day and night, from when I wake up to when I go to sleep seven days a week, pretty intense.”
Musk’s job will likely end when the work is finished, which may never happen. “I think the mission isn’t over yet, and we still got a long way ago before we can really make a dent in the world on accelerating the advent of sustainable energy. I mean, the goal of Tesla, from the beginning, has been to accelerate sustainable energy.”
Tesla has officially launched its first branded Supercharger just months after initiating a new program that allows third-party companies to brand their own charging piles.
The site opened in Land O’ Lakes, Florida, and features eight V4 Supercharging stalls offering up to 325 kW of charging speed. It appears it was purchased by a company called Suncoast Credit Union. This particular branch is located Northeast of Tampa, which is on the Gulf of Mexico.
It features graphics of Florida animals, like alligators:
Here’s a video of the graphics being installed on the Tesla Superchargers at this site: https://t.co/oIfEPNZjAH pic.twitter.com/ENWakZ2qT9
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 20, 2025
Tesla launched this program back in September, and it basically was a way to expand its Supercharger presence and also allow companies to pay for the infrastructure. Tesla maintains it. When it announced the “Supercharger for Business,” it said:
“Purchase and install Superchargers at your business. Superchargers are compatible with all electric vehicles, bringing EV drivers to your business by offering convenient, reliable charging.”
The program does a few things. Initially, it expands EV charging infrastructure and makes charging solutions more readily available for drivers. It can also attract people to those businesses specifically.
Tesla launches new Supercharger program that business owners will love
The chargers can also be branded with any logo that the business chooses, which makes them more personalized and also acts as an advertisement.
The best part is that the customers do not have to maintain anything about the Supercharger. Tesla still takes care of it and resolves any issues:
“We treat your site like we treat our sites. By providing you with a full-service package that includes network operations, preventative maintenance, and driver support, we’re able to guarantee 97% uptime–the highest in the industry.”
It appears the Superchargers will also appear within the in-car nav during routing, so they’ll be publicly available to anyone who needs to use them. They are still available to all EVs that have worked with Tesla to utilize its infrastructure, and they are not restricted to people who are only visiting the business.
Tesla has revealed its Cybertruck light bar installation fix after a recall exposed a serious issue with the accessory.
Tesla and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) initiated a recall of 6,197 Cybertrucks back in October to resolve an issue with the Cybertruck light bar accessory. It was an issue with the adhesive that was provided by a Romanian company called Hella Romania S.R.L.
Tesla recalls 6,197 Cybertrucks for light bar adhesive issue
The issue was with the primer quality, as the recall report from the NHTSA had stated the light bar had “inadvertently attached to the windshield using the incorrect surface primer.”
Instead of trying to adhere the light bar to the Cybertruck with an adhesive, Tesla is now going to attach it with a bracketing system, which will physically mount it to the vehicle instead of relying on adhesive strips or glue.
Tesla outlines this in its new Service Bulletin, labeled SB-25-90-001, (spotted by Not a Tesla App) where it shows the light bar will be remounted more securely:
The entire process will take a few hours, but it can be completed by the Mobile Service techs, so if you have a Cybertruck that needs a light bar adjustment, it can be done without taking the vehicle to the Service Center for repair.
However, the repair will only happen if there is no delamination or damage present; then Tesla could “retrofit the service-installed optional off-road light bar accessory with a positive mechanical attachment.”
The company said it would repair the light bar at no charge to customers. The light bar issue was one that did not result in any accidents or injuries, according to the NHTSA’s report.
This was the third recall on Cybertruck this year, as one was highlighted in March for exterior trim panels detaching during operation. Another had to do with front parking lights being too bright, which was fixed with an Over-the-Air update last month.
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Tesla is already expanding its Rental program aggressively
The program has already launched in a handful of locations, specifically, it has been confined to California for now. However, it does not seem like Tesla has any interest in keeping it restricted to the Golden State.
Tesla is looking to expand its Rental Program aggressively, just weeks after the program was first spotted on its Careers website.
Earlier this month, we reported on Tesla’s intention to launch a crazy new Rental program with cheap daily rates, which would give people in various locations the opportunity to borrow a vehicle in the company’s lineup with some outrageous perks.
Along with the cheap rates that start at about $60 per day, Tesla also provides free Full Self-Driving operation and free Supercharging for the duration of the rental. There are also no limits on mileage or charging, but the terms do not allow the renter to leave the state from which they are renting.
🚨🚨 If you look up details on the Tesla Rental program on Google, you’ll see a bunch of sites saying it’s because of decreasing demand 🤣 pic.twitter.com/WlSQrDJhMg
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 10, 2025
The program has already launched in a handful of locations, specifically, it has been confined to California for now. However, it does not seem like Tesla has any interest in keeping it restricted to the Golden State.
Job postings from Tesla now show it is planning to launch the Rental program in at least three new states: Texas, Tennessee, and Massachusetts.
The jobs specifically are listed as a Rental Readiness Specialist, which lists the following job description:
“The Tesla Rental Program is looking for a Rental Readiness Specialist to work on one of the most progressive vehicle brands in the world. The Rental Readiness Specialist is a key contributor to the Tesla experience by coordinating the receipt of incoming new and used vehicle inventory. This position is responsible for fleet/lot management, movement of vehicles, vehicle readiness, rental invoicing, and customer hand-off. Candidates must have a high level of accountability, and personal satisfaction in doing a great job.”
It also says that those who take the position will have to charge and clean the cars, work with clients on scheduling pickups and drop-offs, and prepare the paperwork necessary to initiate the rental.
The establishment of a Rental program is big for Tesla because it not only gives people the opportunity to experience the vehicles, but it is also a new way to rent a car.
Just as the Tesla purchasing process is more streamlined and more efficient than the traditional car-buying experience, it seems this could be less painful and a new way to borrow a car for a trip instead of using your own.
Tesla launches its new branded Supercharger for Business with first active station
Tesla reveals its Cybertruck light bar installation fix
