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Linda Iaccarino, CEO of X, formerly Twitter
Cindy Ord/Getty Images for female tally
Tesla
CEO Elon Musk’s management style has come under scrutiny in recent months. Investors most of the time express concern about his methods. They’ve got a little New Thursday that can allay some fears.
On Thursday morning, Linda Iaccarino, CEO of X, formerly Twitter, spoke with CNBC, saying at one point that she had the authority to run the company her way. “The roles of Maine and Elon are very clear,” said Iaccarino. “Elon is focused on product design… I’m in charge of the rest… I have the autonomy to do that.”
She was, of course, talking about X. That may not directly affect Tesla stock (stock ticker: TSLA) but it’s tangentially good news. For starters, it shows Musk is willing to delegate to powerful managers. It also shows that he is spending more time on Tesla.
Time at Tesla has been a topic for a while. Tesla stock was at about $225 when Musk closed his then-Twitter purchase in October 2022. Tesla stock closed the year at $123.18 apiece. The decline was driven in part by concerns about management distraction.
Musk addressed the issue at Tesla’s May 2023 shareholder meeting, saying that Twitter was in a more stable place than it was when he bought it, and he wouldn’t spend a lot of time dealing with Twitter’s problems.
That was a positive for Tesla shareholders who experienced an unwelcome new managerial shock this week when they learned CFO Zachary Kirkhorn was leaving Musk’s car company. It was amazing. Moreover, the sudden nature of the announcement and the CFO’s transition also reminded investors of some of the quick turnarounds in Tesla’s C-suite in previous years. One CFO lasted less than two years. The Chief Accounting Officer has worked less than 2 months on the job.
The instability at the top always raises the question of who could run Tesla but Musk? Investors don’t have a deep knowledge of Tesla’s management seats. Chief Engineering Officer Andrew Baglino and only Kirkhorn and Musk are listed as executives in the 2023 proxy report.
This is why Yaccarino’s autonomy is a good sign for Tesla investors. Now Tesla shareholders have to decide who their Tesla equivalent is – a capable person, who also earned Musk’s trust.
Tesla shares were up 0.8% at midday, while Tesla shares were up 0.8% at midday
Standard & Poor’s 500
And
NASDAQ Composite
They increased by 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. Going into trading Thursday, Tesla stock is down 4.6% since investors learned Kirkhorn is no longer a CFO.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
