Elon Musk is now the official ‘Technoking’ of Tesla, whatever that means

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and Technoking. 

No, we’re not kidding: those are now the two official positions Musk has at Tesla. According to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk has changed his title to “Technoking,” while Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn has been titled “Master of Coin.” 

The new titles are effective as of March 15, 2021. Both the Technoking and the Master of Coin will maintain their respective positions as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the document says. 

It’s unclear what real-world purpose these new titles could serve, except as fuel for Musk’s Twitter jokes. Or perhaps to make the company board meetings a little more lively. 

As for their meaning, we have no idea where the term Technoking comes from. The Master of Coin title sounds like it could have a little bit to do with Tesla’s recent purchase of Bitcoin — the company bought $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency in February — but to be fair, “master of coin” was a fairly common medieval title for royal treasurers. The term is also found in George R. R. Martin’s fantasy novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire; for example, Lord Petyr Baelish was at one point appointed as master of coin for King Robert I Baratheon. 

If you think that talking about fantasy novels in the context of a major automaker’s SEC filing is silly, go file a complaint with the company’s Technoking. Or the Master of Coin.