Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of Tesla, has said that he does not have any plans to step down from his current position and wants to serve the company as a CEO for the next four or five years.
At the company's annual shareholder's meeting in Mountain View, Calif., on June 3, Musk was asked a question by a shareholder that he would have least expected. The shareholder asked Musk at what time Musk would consider stepping down as the CEO of the company and who would he want to be the CEO of the company after he stepped down.
Musk responded that nobody can be a CEO of a company forever and will probably be the CEO of the company for around four or five years. After that time, he will see if it's manageable for him at "personal level" and then make a decision whether to step down from his post.
Musk, who is also the CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., said that it is difficult for him to be the CEO of two companies at the same time. He added that he did not have the "intention" to take on both the roles. However, he also added that he is committed to both the companies and wants to be there when volume production of the company's third-generation car starts.
Tesla is very well-known in the car industry for its Roadster, a fully electric sports car, and the Model S, a fully-electric sedan. The company is hoping to attract more customers with its third-generation car, which is expected to start deliveries in 2017. With a price tag of between $35,000 and $40,000, Tesla's third-generation car will become the company's most affordable electric car.
South Africa-born Elon Musk co-founded Tesla in 2003; however, he got involved in the company as a Series A investor from 2004. In 2008, Musk took the position of CEO of Tesla. Under his leadership, the company has already launched the Tesla Roadster and the Model S. Tesla has also successfully launched the Model X, but the production design prototype of the car is expected to come out toward the later part of this year, with delivery to retail customers to start in the second quarter of 2015.
Check out the video of Tesla's 2014 Annual Shareholder Meeting.
