Elon Musk has a new title at Tesla: “Technoking”.
The electric car maker announced the exaggerated nickname in a lawsuit with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, along with the new position of chief financial officer Zach Kirkhorn as “Master of the Currency”.
“Elon and Zach will also hold their respective positions as CEO and CFO,” concludes the process – just in case you are concerned that Tesla was officially becoming one of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
Musk, who recently lost his status as the richest person on the planet after Tesla’s stock price fell in February, may be looking for a boost in confidence, as his company’s formerly high valuation falters slightly. The company had one of the most impressive stock rises of 2020, rising more than 600 percent as the market responded favorably to Musk’s vision of zero-emission vehicles dominating the globe.
But those numbers started to drop in 2021, with Tesla’s shares falling nearly 14% in the first two months. A fire at the company’s Fremont plant last week also brought down stock prices. And reports of more than 450 cases of COVID-19 among Tesla workers have surfaced as of December 2020.
Musk has a reputation as a corporate prankster who is irritated by the traditional image of a chief executive and often goes beyond the limits of decorum. He used Twitter to insult government reporters and regulators, and audaciously tested new driver assistance software on his customers, which he misinterpreted as fully autonomous technology.
“Technoking” is not the only case that came out of Tesla. The company’s polarizing and boxy Cybertruck is also due to go into production later this year – although its majesty, Elon the First, said Tesla would be “lucky” if he was not delayed.