Tesla ‘s board reportedly opened a search last month for a CEO to replace Elon Musk, raising the question of what the company’s future would look like after Musk’s long tenure at the helm. Tesla has denied the Wall Street Journal report , but the story highlights how “perhaps no other company has as large a key man risk,” UBS analysts led by Joseph Spak told clients in a note Wednesday. Tesla is at a critical juncture right now, Spak wrote. The core business is still focused on cars, but “the bull case narrative is that Tesla is an AI company, with Musk himself indicating in various ways that the value of Tesla is tied to autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots,” Spak said. Whether another executive can fill Musk’s shoes is uncertain. “Finding a CEO who can captivate the market and investors as much as Musk is a tall task,” Spak said. UBS rates Tesla a sell with a $190 price target, 33% below where the stock closed Wednesday. Shares are down 42% from the mid-December all-time high of $488.54. TSLA 3M mountain Tesla over past three months.
