Prominent Tesla investor Ross Gerber, co-founder of investment firm Gerber Kawasaki, has publicly called on CEO Elon Musk to return attention to the company’s core electric vehicle business.
Gerber made his remarks in a post on X, taking direct aim at Musk’s pivot toward AI and chip manufacturing while new EV development has been sidelined.
“Maybe Tesla should consider selling EVs again…. It’s a wonderful business,” Gerber wrote in the post, signaling his frustration with the company’s current strategic direction.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) has experienced notable volatility over the past month, with shares falling more than 13% since May 26 and declining close to 6% since June 18.
The stock reached a high of $442.10 per share during that period, but traded at $374.40 per share in after-hours trading on Thursday, slipping an additional 0.19%.
Gerber has also turned his attention to rival EV startup Slate Auto, a company backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos, which is developing a modular, ultra-customizable electric pickup truck.
The base variant of Slate Auto’s truck is expected to retail for close to $25,000 and offers a range of 201 miles in its standard configuration, drawing praise from Gerber on social media.
“People will totally love this truck,” Gerber wrote in a separate post on X, endorsing Slate’s approach to affordable and customizable electric mobility.
On the product front, Tesla has reportedly been exploring the development of an affordable EV targeting the Chinese market, which could also potentially be sold in the United States.
Musk has previously hinted at another possible new model in development, and two new additions to Tesla’s lineup could provide a meaningful refresh to a range that currently consists of the Model 3, Model Y, and the Cybertruck.
Separately, investor Gary Black of The Future Fund LLC moved to dismiss circulating rumors that Musk was deliberately slowing Tesla’s Robotaxi rollout to engineer a merger with Space Exploration Technologies Corp. following its blockbuster IPO, which raised close to $86 billion.
The debate over Tesla’s strategic direction reflects growing investor impatience with the company’s shift away from its foundational EV business at a time when competition in the electric vehicle market continues to intensify globally.
