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- Ross Gerber said he's a fan of Tesla CEO Elon Musk but warned his lifestyle is unsustainable.
- The Tesla activist investor told Yahoo Finance that he's "pretty concerned" about Musk.
- "The bottom line is running a company like Tesla and being CEO of Tesla is a full-time job."
Tesla CEO Elon Musk's lifestyle is unsustainable, according to activist investor Ross Gerber.
He told Yahoo Finance in a Wednesday interview that while he remained supportive of Musk and his leadership, he is worried about Musk's heavy work schedule that now encompasses leading Tesla and Twitter.
"The bottom line is running a company like Tesla and being CEO of Tesla is a full-time job. And you know, I don't think Elon's lifestyle is sustainable currently, and I'm pretty concerned about him, to be honest," Gerber said. "You know, I'm a huge fan and a huge supporter of Tesla, and I just want to see what's best for Tesla and the company, as well as having a sustainable future for Elon as well."
Gerber recently announced intentions to pursue a board seat at Tesla, and added that he has support from Leo KoGuan, Tesla's third-largest individual shareholder.
Gerber added that Musk's demanding schedule is difficult "by anybody's standard," but also said he remained supportive of Musk and only wanted what's best for Tesla.
"If we're going to get to Mars and we're going to do that, we need Elon to make it another 20 years at least," he said, referring to Musk's plan for SpaceX to reach Mars.
Outside of Tesla, Gerber serves as the chief executive of Gerber Kawasaki, an investment firm which he also cofounded. Gerber's stake in Tesla is roughly 440,000 shares, equating 0.01%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
While calling himself a "friendly activist," Gerber took a harsher tone last week as he announced his bid to seek board seat. He said Musk doesn't take criticism well and is too thin skinned.
"I've kind of had enough," he said. "Tesla needs to build its image around Tesla, and not just around Elon."