Business
Musk’s Wealth Threatened by Tesla Brain Drain and Falling Stock: Report
By Jake Beardslee · June 18, 2025
Elon Musk is reportedly grappling with a critical period for Tesla, as a wave of executive departures, declining stock prices, and consumer discontent converge to threaten the future of the company that constitutes a significant portion of his fortune.
Former Jalopnik editor-in-chief Patrick George, writing for The Atlantic, described a growing “brain drain” at Tesla that mirrors the staffing cuts seen in Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). According to George, “About a third of the executives who stood onstage with him two years ago have left Tesla or been ousted,” with recent exits including the heads of software engineering, battery technology, and humanoid robotics. Additionally, tens of thousands of Tesla employees departed in the last year amid mass layoffs.
Musk’s attention has been notably divided, particularly by his involvement with DOGE and prior advisory ties to Donald Trump. These associations have not only alienated swaths of the consumer base but may now be unsettling investors. George suggested that Tesla’s struggle stems not just from internal turmoil but from the political baggage Musk has accumulated. “Musk has already alienated people on the left and right, but many people still fiercely believe in his ability to make them rich.”
Despite Musk’s efforts to pivot Tesla toward artificial intelligence and automation, these initiatives have so far accelerated internal turnover rather than stabilized the company’s foundation, according to George.
“His actions might finally be catching up with him,” George wrote. “Whether Tesla can rebound will test something truly scarce, not Musk’s wealth but the faith that others have in him. At some point, even they might start to vanish.”
With Tesla pausing production on high-profile vehicles like the Cybertruck and Model Y, the road ahead appears uncertain. Musk’s capacity to regain investor confidence may determine not only Tesla’s future but the durability of his public persona as an unstoppable innovator.