Tesla: Some board members reportedly want James Murdoch as chairman

James Murdoch has served
on Tesla’s board of directors since 2017.
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for National
Geographic

• Telsa
  board members have proposed 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch
  succeed Elon Musk as chairman. 
• Murdoch previously came under fire, ahead of his
  re-election to the board in May, due to a lack of relevant
  experience. 
• 
  
  Follow Tesla in real-time here. 
  

Some members of Tesla’s board of directors have proposed 21st
Century Fox CEO James Murdoch take over the role of chairman
following Elon Musk’s settlement with the Securities and Exchange
Commission to
relinquish his top boardroom role, the
New York Times reported late Tuesday.

Murdoch — son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch – has served on
the board since 2017, but hasn’t yet volunteered himself for
the role of chairman, James B. Stewart reported, citing people
familiar with the board’s discussions. No serious discussions
have occurred, according to the paper.

As part of his
settlement, Musk has 45 days to vacate his role as chairman
of Tesla’s board, which has
come under fire in recent months by critics who think it
should exercise more enough control over the sometimes-erratic
billionaire. While considered independent by Tesla, Murdoch may
not be everyone on the board’s top choice.

In May, proxy advisor Glass Lewis and union pension fund CtW
Investment Group both urged shareholders to
vote against Murdoch’s re-election as director, citing his
implication in scandals at 21st Century Fox subsidiaries Fox and
New Corp, as well as a lack of relevant automotive or green
technology experience.

In an interview Monday, Glass Lewis’ head of environmental,
social, and governance research explained why an independent
chairman was so important for Tesla’s board.

“The board has a duty to shareholders to ensure that they are
exercising their fiduciary oversight of the company, including
the leadership and management,” Courteney Keatinge, director of
ESG at the proxy advisor, told Business Insider.

“That’s why we’re looking for independent directors because we
want to make sure that they are looking for the interest of
shareholders and not the interest of themselves.”

Murdoch, who owns roughly 10,000 shares of Tesla worth about
$3.03 million at Wednesday’s price, also serves on the boards of
Sky, TrueX Media, 21st Century Fox, New Corp, and Yankee Global
Enterprises, as well as a handful of arts organizations,
according to Bloomberg data. 

Following the SEC’s regulatory action against Musk, Tesla’s board
said it remains fully confident in his leadership. 

“Tesla and the board of directors are fully confident in
Elon, his integrity, and his leadership of the company, which has
resulted in the most successful U.S. auto company in over a
century,” the board said. “Our focus remains on the continued
ramp of Model 3 production and delivering for our customers,
shareholders and employees.”

Tesla shares were up less than 1% early Wednesday. They have
fallen about 3% this year. 

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