Tesla US88160R1014 has rejected a newspaper report that the car manufacturer's board of directors had contacted headhunting firms to begin the search for a successor to CEO Elon Musk.

This information is "absolutely false," Tesla said several hours after the report was published on Musk's online platform X.

Musk and the board of directors are convinced that he can continue to implement the growth plans, said the statement from board chair Robyn Denholm.

The Wall Street Journal, citing informed sources, reported that Tesla's board of directors had approached several firms specializing in executive searches about a month ago. The report also stated that the board had asked Musk to spend more time on Tesla matters and to publicly announce this. Tesla has yet to comment.

Musk has been at the helm of Tesla for about two decades and is considered the driving force behind the company's rise. "Tesla is Musk and Musk is Tesla," industry analyst Dan Ives of the financial firm Wedbush recently wrote.

The Wall Street Journal itself qualified the matter by saying that the current status of the board's deliberations was unknown to the newspaper. A month ago, Musk faced increasing criticism from investors for spending a lot of time in Washington as a cost-cutting officer for US President Donald Trump. Last week, however, he announced that he would largely step back from his role in the capital and focus significantly more on Tesla's affairs.

This could resolve a point of tension regarding the stock market. However, Musk's presence in Washington and his right-wing political views also led some potential buyers to turn away from Tesla. Analyst Ives estimates that this could have permanently reduced demand for Tesla vehicles by 15 to 20 percent.