Musk vows to stay on as Tesla CEO for at least 5 more years

Elon Musk said he’s committed to leading Tesla Inc. as chief executive officer in five years’ time, easing the concerns of some investors wary about his level of commitment to the carmaker.

Musk, 53, commented on his future at Tesla during a remote appearance Tuesday at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. While he criticized a Delaware Chancery Court judge who’s twice ruled against the massive pay package the company awarded him in 2018, he said he doubted the issue will affect his decision to stay.

“The compensation should match that something incredible was done,” Musk said. “But I’m confident that whatever some activist posing as a judge in Delaware happens to do will not affect the future compensation.”

Musk has been CEO of Tesla since 2008, one of the longest active stints among top executives of the world’s major automakers. His level of engagement with the business has come under greater scrutiny as the company follows up its first annual drop in vehicle sales in over a decade with steeper declines early this year.

Tesla shares jumped after Musk’s comments, trading up more than 3.6% in intraday trading before paring gains. The stock has declined 15% this year.

The government of the State of Qatar is the underwriter of the Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg.