Elon Musk has been active on his social media platform X, tweeting about his nascent “American Party” to take on the Republican/Democrat duopoly that has come to dominate U.S. politics.
On July 8, Musk retweeted political charts showing that 43% of the U.S. is unaffiliated/ independent, despite 99% of Congress being part of one of the two major parties.
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He also commented on the Ukraine-Russia war and the tragic flooding in Texas.
But by far, his favorite current topic is the White House confirming that there is no Jeffrey Epstein client list, despite previously claiming that there was one.
Epstein, a financier who notoriously committed suicide in prison after he was arrested for trafficking underage girls.
Epstein has been associated with some of the world's most powerful figures, and there are numerous videos of him and President Donald Trump enjoying each other's company in social settings.
Musk has used this opportunity to needle his former friend and boss, reposting memes and replies alleging a cover-up, despite the fact that Musk also has a picture of himself with Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking charges related to Epstein.
Enter Wedbush analyst and Tesla super bull Dan Ives.
Ives has stuck with the stock and Elon through thick and thin. When Robotaxi launched in Austin, Texas, in June, Ives was one of the first people in line during the invite-only portion of the launch.
Ives has been a Tesla backer since day one, but that loyalty meant nothing on day two.
Image source: Wedbush Securities/TheStreet
Elon Musk tells Tesla super bull Dan Ives to ‘shut up'
Tesla (TSLA) has an important date coming up soon.
Its Q2 earnings release is scheduled after the closing bell on July 23.
Analysts expect the company to report earnings of 35 cents per share on revenue of $22.6 billion. A year ago, the company reported revenue of $25.5 billion and diluted earnings of 42 cents per share.
Tesla reported a 13.5% decline in second-quarter global sales on July 2 to 384,122 units, missing analyst estimates by about 3,000 units.
So with maybe the most important second-quarter earnings release in years just two weeks away, Ives, who has staked his professional reputation on Tesla's success, seemed to want Musk to shift his focus to the task at hand.
Tesla Board of Directions…take the following 3 steps in our view
1. New pay package getting Musk to 25% voting control. Clears a path for xAI merger.
2. Guardrails established for amount of time Musk spends at Tesla as part of pay package
3. Oversight on political endeavors 🎯— Dan Ives (@DivesTech) July 8, 2025
Musk didn't seem to appreciate the unsolicited advice from Ives to the board to babysit Musk by making sure he spends more time at Tesla, and tying that stipulation to his pay package. So he had a simple response.
“Shut up, Dan,” Musk replied.
Musk faces very little pressure from Tesla's board of directors
Tesla is different from other automakers in many ways, but one of the most significant is its stock ownership structure.
Retail investors own a significant portion of Tesla shares, while institutional investors own the majority of other automakers. According to Capital.com, institutional investors own 80% of General Motors' stock, more than half of Ford stock, and 62% of Rivian stock.
Meanwhile, institutional investors own 42.8% of Tesla shares, while retail investors own 43.2%.
Elon Musk is the largest single Tesla shareholder at 13%.
Tesla's board of directors features Musk and his brother, Kimbal. Joining the Musk brothers are chair Robyn Denholm, Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia, Rupert Murdoch's son James Murdoch, former Chipotle CFO Jac Hartung, early Tesla investor Ira Ehrenpreis, former Walgreens Boots Alliance exec Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, and former Tesla exec J.B. Straubel.
In 2023, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Tesla's board, claiming they were too close to Musk.
Warren quoted SEC guidelines saying publicly traded companies “must have an independent board of directors whose role it is to ‘act on behalf of investors to maximize shareholder value…and guard against conflicts of interest.'”
Nothing ever came of Warren's call for an investigation.
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