Elon Musk has long been credited with turning Tesla into a beacon of innovation, the visionary who pushed the world into an era of electrification. But

Tesla has sent a message that Musk "isn't untouchable," said Quartz. The report of the board's willingness to replace him was likely part of a "game of high-stakes poker between the board and Musk" in which the board was firing a "warning shot," said Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives. It is likely Musk will remain CEO for at least five years.

Elon Musk has called the Wall Street Journal report a "deliberately false article" and an "extremely bad breach of ethics."