The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit met this past Monday, where Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was a prominent participant. When asked if he would consider stepping into a new role at Tesla, Musk offered an unprompted response. He noted that titles are only prominent at large companies for International Revenue Services paperwork. Among these are secretary, president, and treasurer.
Avoiding the initial question, Musk noted that all other titles, regardless of their category, are essentially made up. In a joking manner, Musk recently repositioned himself to “Technoking” of the company, reinforcing the lack of title importance.
This does not discredit the countless hours that Musk puts into his company from sunrise to sunset. His complaints cover the rigor that being a CEO requires, creating a compulsive mindset and resorting to sleeping on the factory’s floors to meet deadlines.


Perhaps he is facing CEO-related burnout and does not know what to make of his title. Regardless, he has not shown any indication of stepping down or passing the role off any time soon.