Asa Mathat | D: All Things Digital
- Elon Musk stepping down as Twitter's CEO is only partly positive for Tesla investors, Gene Munster said.
- That's because Musk could possible now focus on other ventures, such as his startup X.AI.
- Investors have urged Musk to walk away from Twitter for months on fears that he's neglecting Tesla.
Elon Musk stepping down from Twitter is only partly positive for Tesla stock, as the billionaire could still be distracted by his other side projects, particularly his artificial intelligence startup, investor Gene Munster said.
"This is undoubtedly good news for, personally, Elon Musk. It's a fractional positive for Tesla," the Deepwater managing partner said in an interview with CNBC on Friday, pointing to Musk's recent announcement that he would soon be stepping down as Twitter's CEO.
The news caused Tesla shares to jump Thursday afternoon, but it isn't a necessarily a game-changer for Tesla stock, Munster said, as Musk will still have a large role in Twitter operations by serving as the company's chief technology officer.
Musk has also expressed interest in other ventures, such as by quietly launching an AI startup called X.ai this year, which Musk has hinted could release a rival chatbot to OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Those projects are likely to eat up more of Musk's time, Munster said, floating the possibility that he may one day step down as Tesla CEO as well.
"Any of the positives related to this development need to be taken in the context of what's going to happen in the next one to two years with Tesla's CEO role," he warned.
Tesla investors have been concerned that Musk may be spreading himself too thin across his portfolio of companies, with 17 major Tesla shareholders last month asking the company's board to "rein in" Musk's attention in an open letter. Investors have asked Musk to step away from his involvement with Twitter in particular, arguing that the tech mogul's chaotic revamp of the social media site has hurt Tesla's brand.
Musk promised to walk away from his CEO role at Twitter in December, on the condition that he found someone "foolish" enough to replace him. On Friday, he announced Twitter's new CEO was Linda Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal executive who is expected to replace Musk in about six weeks.