Australian takes the helm at Tesla

tesla

Former Telstra CFO and head strategist Robyn Denholm has taken over the position of chief of Tesla after Elon Musk agreed to step down from the role.

While Musk will continue to hold onto the role of chief executive, the decision was made to replace him as chair while he resolved fraud allegations with US regulators.

In August, the billionaire entrepreneur announced on Twitter that he had “funding secured” for a deal to take Tesla private, which caused the company’s shares to soar dramatically.

However, Musk backed away from the plan weeks later and blamed it on feedback from shareholders.

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Subsequently, US authorities sued Musk for misleading investors, fining him $20 million personally and Tesla $20 million as well.

As part of the settlement, Musk was obliged to relinquish his role as chairman for three years and Tesla instructed to hire an independent chair.

Ms Denholm joined Tesla’s board in August 2014 and now has a full-time role with the company.

“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,” she said.

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