Tesla picks new chair to replace Elon Musk
san francisco — Tesla said Robyn Denholm will replace Elon Musk as chair of the electric-car maker’s board, more than a month after the billionaire had to step down from the role as part of a settlement with US regulators.
The appointment of Denholm, one of the two women on the carmaker’s nine-member board, caps months of turbulence for the company and its stock as investors called for stronger oversight of Musk.
The company had until November 13 to name an independent board chairman under its agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which followed an investigation into Musk’s tweets that he had “funding secured” for a deal, later scuttled, to take Tesla private.
Musk, who has been on Tesla’s board since 2004, quit as chairman but retained his role as CEO. His tweets attracted scrutiny from several other government agencies as well.
Denholm is currently chief financial officer at Australian telecoms operator Telstra Corp and has been an independent director on Tesla’s board since 2014.
She takes over as Tesla’s chair immediately and will be tasked with overseeing the company as it ramps up production of its Model 3 sedans.
Denholm will leave her role as CFO and head of strategy at Telstra once her six-month notice period with the company is complete, Tesla said. She was named as Telstra’s CFO in July.
Tesla said Denholm, 55, will serve as chair on a full-time basis and will temporarily step down as chair of the company’s audit committee until she leaves Telstra.
“Would like to thank Robyn for joining the team. Great respect. Very much look forward to working together,” Musk tweeted early on Thursday.