His Majesty Elon the First, Technoking of Tesla

Last week, Elon Musk made $25 billion in one day. On Monday, he crowned himself “Technoking of Tesla.” In Musk-speak, this new title still translates into the chief executive officer of the electric car company. 

The eccentric billionaire is nothing if not creative with his dubs (see: Offspring named X Æ A-Xii.) Zach Kirkhorn, the company’s chief financial officer, has also been bestowed the title of Master of Coin. A nod to “Game of Thrones?” Honestly, who knows? 

The new appellations were announced via a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, which reads: 

“Effective as of March 15, 2021, the titles of Elon Musk and Zach Kirkhorn have changed to Technoking of Tesla and Master of Coin, respectively. Elon and Zach will also maintain their respective positions as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer.”

This title change follows Musk’s announcement last month that Tesla might start accepting bitcoin as a form of payment in the near future. The cryptocurrency’s stock price hit a new high of $61,788 over the weekend. 

Perhaps this is Musk’s not-so-subtle way of trying to let the world know who reigns supreme, especially after being bumped by Jeff Bezos as the richest person on the planet and after being sued by a Tesla investor for his continuous “erratic tweets” that potentially expose the electric vehicle company to fines and penalties that could drive its share price down. 

Musk’s announcement had a negligible impact on the stock price. Tesla’s stock is up 1.5% in morning trading. Tesla shares had an impressive 600% soar in 2020. However, the stock is now down 20% for the year from a high of $880.82 reached January 8. 

Tesla also disclosed on Monday that Jerome Guillen, president of automotive, will now take on the role of president of Tesla Heavy Trucking. In a 2020 Q4 earnings call, Musk said he expects deliveries of the Tesla Semi to begin this year. The engineering work on the freight-hauling truck with an all-electric powertrain is complete, but lack of availability to battery cells might halt production, Musk said during the call.