Tesla shareholders reject bid to strip Musk of chairman role

SANFRANCISCO—TeslaCEO Elon Musk has rebuffed a shareholder attempt to overhaul the electric car maker's board and strip him of his role as chairman, despite worries about the company's shaky finances and inability to meet its production goals for its first mass-market sedan.

All three directors seeking to remain on Tesla's nine-member board were re-elected during the company's annual meeting held Tuesday in Mountain View, California.

Directors Antonio Gracias, James Murdoch and Elon's brother, Kimbal Musk, won by "a wide margin," according to Tesla.CtW Investment Group, an activist firm that represents labor union pension funds, had spearheaded a rebellion seeking to oust the trio from the board on the grounds that they didn't know about the auto industry at a critical time in Tesla's existence.

The company said a "supermajority" of shareholders also rejected a proposal to force Musk to step down as Tesla's chairman, a position he has held since 2004 - four years before he also assumed the CEO job.

The precise voting totals will be disclosed within the next few days.

Elon Musk holds a 22 percent stake in Tesla, increasing the degree of difficulty for shareholders trying to challenge his authority.After the results were announced, he sought to reassure shareholders attending the meeting and others watching on a webcast.

After describing the past few months as among the most "hellish" in his life, Musk said he expected Tesla to post a quarterly profit during the JulySeptember period. That's something the PaloAlto,California,companyhasrarely pulled off in a 15-year history marked by steady losses while investing heavily in its technology and manufacturing plants.

Tesla has been burning through so much cash - more than $1 billion during the first three months of this year alone - that investors have been worrying it will have to sell more stock or add to its already hefty debt load to raise enough money to survive.