Early Thursday morning, Tesla (TSLA) chair Robyn Denholm denied a stunning report from the Wall Street Journal saying that Tesla’s board of directors was looking for CEO Elon Musk’s replacement.

“Earlier today, there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company,” Denholm wrote in a post published by Tesla’s X.com account. “This is absolutely false … 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.”

The Journal reported Tesla’s board of directors was in the initial stages of a formal process to find the EV maker’s next CEO. The board, according to the Journal, also told Musk he needed to spend more time back at the company and needed to let Tesla investors and the public know he was returning.

Musk apparently didn’t push back and publicly stated on Tesla’s first quarter earnings call in late April that he would indeed be “allocating far more” of his time at Tesla.

Tesla’s investor relations department did not immediately respond to Yahoo Finance’s request for comment. Tesla does not maintain a press office in the US.

Despite Denholm’s denial, the Journal’s reporting suggests a search was at least initially explored, and it is unclear if Musk, a member of the board, was even aware.

Tesla’s board of directors has a fiduciary duty to shareholders, though in recent years its reputation was for rubber-stamping CEO Elon Musk’s initiatives, signing off on huge pay packages, and offering little resistance to the mercurial CEO’s various whims. That may have changed following Musk’s foray into politics, which brought significant harm to the brand and may have led to a sales slump.

Tesla’s auto sales have been hurting, with the EV maker suffering a year-over-year decline in global sales last year. Last month, Tesla reported first quarter deliveries of 336,681 units, making it the worst quarter for deliveries since the second quarter of 2022.

Tesla’s first quarter earnings missed the mark as well, with revenue down 9% and profit sliding over 70%.

Demand concerns led to falling sales across a number of key regions for Tesla. Tesla registration data in important European regions fell in March, another sign that sales are continuing to slide as Tesla's brand has also taken a hit due to Musk's right-wing political activities.

Musk's closeness to President Trump and embrace of right-wing politicians in Europe have seen Musk's and Tesla's brands suffer. Protests, for instance, at Tesla showrooms in the US and abroad are ongoing.