Tesla’s board reportedly was looking for a successor, but Musk reportedly moved around the Washington area.

According to growing new brows WSJ ReportTesla’s board began quietly searching for a possible successor to Elon Musk about a month ago, with carmakers facing protests, causing sales to plummet, and masks being sold towards Washington to cut government spending, reducing profits.

Board members reportedly met with Musk to express concern about his split attention, and he said he needed to spend more time with Tesla and commit to doing so publicly. According to a journal report, the masks did not push back, and then told investors that they would “allocate much more time to Tesla” from May.

Musk’s government work led to Tesla’s first annual decline in sales for over a decade. His political alignment also damaged the company’s brand image among some consumers. The impact is fast and furious. Tesla’s market value fell from $1.5 trillion in December to about $900 billion today.

Despite these challenges, Musk sounded optimistic about Tesla’s future on last week’s revenue call. There, the company reported a 71% decline in profits and a 9% decline in revenues.

The current status of the succession plan remains unknown, adding that it is unclear whether Musk knows the effort or not.