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Tesla names Robyn Denholm as chair to replace Elon Musk | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Tesla has named an Australian executive as its new chairman after Elon Musk was forced to give up the role. | |
Robyn Denholm, the finance chief of Australian telecoms firm Telstra, takes over from the electric car maker's founder, who remains chief executive. | |
Mr Musk agreed to step down as chair last month to resolve claims of fraud brought by US financial regulators. | |
The settlement requires Tesla to install an independent chairman, among other penalties. | The settlement requires Tesla to install an independent chairman, among other penalties. |
The announcement scotches reports that James Murdoch was the frontrunner for the job. | |
Tesla has endured a difficult few months, following comments Mr Musk made on social media in early August suggesting he had "funding secured" for a deal to take Tesla private. | |
Its shares soared following his comments but weeks later Mr Musk backed away from the plan, blaming feedback from shareholders. | |
US authorities sued the entrepreneur for misleading investors and he and Tesla were each fined $20m. Mr Musk was also obliged to relinquish his role as chairman for three years. | |
Investors had also called for stronger oversight of Mr Musk after his erratic behaviour attracted attention. In media interviews he said he often slept on a sofa in the Tesla office and more recently in an online video he briefly smoked marijuana. | |
Tesla, which has never reported an annual profit, also came under strain over production schedules for its Model 3 electric car, its newest car aimed at a wider market. However, the carmaker made what Mr Musk called an "historic" profit in the most recent quarter. | Tesla, which has never reported an annual profit, also came under strain over production schedules for its Model 3 electric car, its newest car aimed at a wider market. However, the carmaker made what Mr Musk called an "historic" profit in the most recent quarter. |
Ms Denholm, who has been on Tesla's board since August 2014, became Telstra CFO in July. | |
She will take on the full-time role at Tesla after serving a six-month notice period at the Australian firm. | |
"I believe in this company, I believe in its mission and I look forward to helping Elon and the Tesla team achieve sustainable profitability and drive long-term shareholder value," Ms Denholm said. | |
Before moving to Telstra, she worked for Silicon Valley firms Sun Microsystems and Juniper Networks as well as consultants Arthur Anderson and Toyota. | |
"Robyn has extensive experience in both the tech and auto industries, and she has made significant contributions as a Tesla board member over the past four years in helping us become a profitable company," said Mr Musk. | |