Elon Musk has long been credited with turning Tesla into a beacon of innovation, the visionary who pushed the world into an era of electrification. But

"This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published). The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the Board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead," Denholm's statement said.

Tesla chair Robyn Denholm on Thursday denied a Wall Street Journal report that said board members had reached out to executive search firms to find a new replacement for CEO Elon Musk.