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☆ Tesla’s governance autopilot heads for disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

It’s a vulnerable time for such pronouncements when the market Tesla (TSLA.O) effectively created threatens to overtake it. The stock price has tumbled some 60% since November 2021 compared to a 12% decline in the S&P 500 index (.SPX). A more deferential approach to Musk might have made sense during Tesla’s meteoric rise, when its mere existence bucked convention. The Department of Justice has initiated a probe into Tesla’s self-proclaimed “self-driving” capabilities, which have been involved in fatal crashes. Heeding advice from ISS and Glass Lewis would at least be a place to start, because leaving governance on autopilot also can have dangerous consequences.

May 16 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk on Tuesday warned that the electric-vehicle maker was not immune to the global economy, which he said will be difficult for the next 12 months. At the meeting, shareholders voted to appoint the company's co-founder and former chief technology officer, JB Straubel, to the board. They also rejected a proposal to publish a report that sought to establish succession plans for Chief Executive Elon Musk. Tesla shareholders on Tuesday swiftly voted with the board's recommendations on nearly all proposals. In November, Tesla director James Murdoch testified in court that Musk had identified someone as a potential successor.

May 16 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) shareholders on Tuesday voted to appoint the company's co-founder and former chief technology officer, JB Straubel, to the board, and rejected a proposal to publish a report that sought to establish succession plans for Chief Executive Elon Musk. Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis had recommended that shareholders vote against Straubel's appointment, citing worries about his independence. Tesla shareholders on Tuesday swiftly voted with the board's recommendations on nearly all proposals. Shareholders also voted to re-elect Musk and Chair Robyn Denholm as board members. Tesla board members have discussed CFO Zach Kirkhorn as a possible successor as CEO, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The billionaire entrepreneur, also the top boss of Twitter, last week announced that NBCUniversal's former advertising head Linda Yaccarino will succeed him as Twitter CEO and that he will focus on products and technology at the social media firm. Here are some topics that may be discussed at the shareholder meeting. Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis recommended Tesla shareholders vote against Straubel's appointment, citing worries about his independence. DEMANDInvestors hope Musk will talk about demand against the backdrop of a slowing economy and growing competition. He had flagged strong demand for the Cybertruck, but it takes time to get the manufacturing line going for the "very radical product".

☆ Elon Musk names NBCU ad chief Linda Yaccarino as Twitter CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk on Friday named longtime media executive Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter, months after he promised to step back from the role. “I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!” Musk wrote in a tweet on Friday. NBCUniversal’s ad sales team has generated $100 billion in ad sales since she joined in 2011, according to her profile, and forged partnerships with many new media companies including Twitter as well as Apple News, Buzzfeed, Snapchat and YouTube. Ad sales represented more than 90% of the company’s revenue before Musk purchased it in October. Musk has previously spoken about improving ad sales by focusing more on the relevance of its ads.

☆ ISS recommends Tesla investors vote against re-election of board chair
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Tesla Inc FollowSAN FRANCISCO, May 3 (Reuters) - Proxy advisory firm ISS on Wednesday recommended Tesla investors vote against the re-election of board chair Robyn Denholm, citing concerns about a lack of scrutiny of the pledging of some company stocks by CEO Elon Musk and his brother Kimbal Musk. Tesla shares are down about 60% from their record high reached in November 2021. The shares pledged by Elon Musk accounted for 58% of his Tesla ownership, ISS said. ISS recommended votes for Musk and co-founder JB Straubel as board members. Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis last month recommended Tesla shareholders vote against Straubel, citing worries about his independence because he served as chief technology officer at Tesla until 2019.

☆ ISS recommends Tesla investors vote against re-election of Robyn Denholm
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Tesla Inc FollowSAN FRANCISCO, May 3 (Reuters) - Proxy advisory firm ISS on Wednesday recommended Tesla investors vote against re-election of board chair Robyn Denholm, citing concerns about a lack of the board's oversight over the pledging of some company stocks by CEO Elon Musk and his brother Kimbal Musk. "Pledging does inherently pose risks to ordinary shareholders, and the likelihood of a forced sale of pledged shares increases at a time when the share price (and therefore the value of the collateral) is already declining," ISS said in a report. "The aggregate value of the pledged position, as well as the likelihood of further increases, raise significant concerns," it said. Musk did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elon Musk had a rough week across his empire — Tesla, Twitter and SpaceX
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The investors are particularly concerned with Musk and Tesla's handling of human rights and workers' rights. Their letter recounts many lawsuits in which Tesla has been sued over: racial discrimination, union-busting, wage theft, sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions. "Instead of working to address problems with regulators, CEO Musk has made derogatory tweets and comments, fueling tensions," they wrote. The open letter to Tesla's board comes after Tesla shares have declined more than 15% over the past month. Musk-led Twitter also removed "government-funded" and "China state-affiliated" labels from Twitter accounts of a myriad of global media organizations.

☆ Tesla investors call for 'distracted' Elon Musk to be reined in as they worry he's 'overcommitted'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Grace Kay | Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tesla investors called for Elon Musk to be reined in an open letter, citing the CEO's many commitments. A group of Tesla investors is calling for Elon Musk to be reined in, saying the CEO has been distracted by commitments to his other companies like Twitter. "The Board allowed the CEO to be overcommitted at a time when the company faces critical challenges," the letter stated. Tesla and Musk didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider ahead of publication. Gerber's name is not listed on the open letter.

☆ Factbox: Tesla sets stage for annual shareholder meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 10 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has put up five proposals for vote at its annual shareholder meeting on May 16, including the nomination of co-founder JB Straubel to the electric-vehicle maker's board. Tesla shareholders usually vote largely in line with board recommendations. FREQUENCY OF NON-BINDING VOTE ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATIONTesla said shareholders will vote on how frequently they would prefer a non-binding, advisory vote on compensation for executive officers. Investors will choose between one, two and three-year intervals for the non-binding vote on executive compensation, the board said, adding that it recommends a three-year interval. The EV maker has urged shareholders to vote against the proposal, saying it "would cause unnecessary competitive harm".

☆ Tesla nominates ex-CTO JB Straubel to board of directors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

JB Straubel, Tesla Motors' former chief technical officer, speaks during a ribbon cutting for a new Supercharger station outside of the Tesla Factory on August 16, 2013 in Fremont, California. Tesla has nominated JB Straubel, the CEO and founder of e-waste recycler Redwood Materials, to its eight-member board of directors, according to an SEC filing out Thursday. Straubel is deemed a co-founder of Tesla due to his engineering and operations leadership at Tesla from early on. Mizuno was previously the chief investment officer Japan's government pension investment fund and has been a member of the Tesla board since April 2020. Besides Straubel, Tesla is nominating CEO Elon Musk and chair Robyn Denholm to be re-elected to the board of directors again.

☆ Aussie start-up firm SafetyCulture appoints Tesla Chair as director
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - Australian technology firm SafetyCulture on Monday said it has appointed Robyn Denholm, chair of electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), as a director to its board. Denholm, who has been an advisor to the Australian firm since late 2021, is replacing Rick Baker, co-founder of Blackbird Ventures, the company said in a statement. The collapse of U.S.-based technology-focused lender Silicon Valley Bank and the ensuing volatility in global financial markets in recent weeks has stoked concerns of higher funding costs for start-up businesses. Denholm's new role is in addition to her roles as Tesla Chair and Chair of The Technology Council of Australia, the company said. Denholm has been in various senior roles in the global technology industry, including former chief financial officer at Australian firm Telstra and is an operating partner at Blackbird Ventures.

[1/2] Tesla vehicles are shown at a Tesla service center in San Diego, California, U.S., January 13, 2023. Tesla board Chair Robyn Denholm is a defendant in the lawsuit alongside Musk, Tesla and other directors. At the time of the tweets, Denholm led Tesla's audit committee, which oversees company controls meant to ensure compliance with securities law. Musk told the jury earlier this week he could have financed the potential deal from existing Tesla investors as well as a Saudi wealth fund. The "funding secured" tweet came as a surprise to him, as Goldman, which had long worked with Tesla, was not involved in the deal.

☆ Tesla plans $3.6 bln Nevada expansion to make Semi truck, battery cells
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The cell plant would be able to make enough batteries for 2 million light-duty vehicles annually, including batteries using the 4680-type cell. The 4680 is key to Tesla meeting a goal of halving battery costs and ramping up battery production nearly 100-fold by 2030. Panasonic currently supplies cells to the gigafactory, and Tesla assembles them into battery packs there. Tesla has struggled to ramp up production of the 4680 at its factories in Fremont, California, and Austin, Texas. The EV maker aimed to produce 50,000 Semis in 2024, Musk said on a post-earnings call in October.

☆ Tesla invests $3.6 bln to expand Nevada complex with two factories
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) said on Tuesday it would invest more than $3.6 billion to expand its Nevada manufacturing complex with two new factories, including the first facility to mass produce its long-delayed Semi electric truck. The 18-wheeler truck has a range of 500 miles on a single charge and can carry 81,000 pounds including the cargo. Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm said in November that Tesla might produce 100 Semis in 2022, but the company did not disclose any figure in its fourth-quarter production report. The EV maker aims to produce 50,000 of the trucks in 2024, Musk had said on a post-earnings call in October. Reporting by Akash Sriram and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elon Musk's attorneys argue his Twitter purchase has caused so much 'local negativity' that a class action trial should be moved from California to Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk faces a class action lawsuit over tweets saying he secured funding to take Tesla private. His attorneys say the trial should be held in Texas instead of California to ensure fairness. Since Musk's Twitter takeover, prospective jurors are biased against the billionaire, they argued. Northern California Senior District Judge Edward M. Chen, who will oversee the class action trial, ruled last year that Musk knowingly made the false statements, which may have impacted Tesla's share price. Since the October 27 acquisition of Twitter, Tesla's stock price has fallen from $225.09 to $113.06 per share, its lowest point since August 2020.

☆ Elon Musk actively searching for a new Twitter CEO, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk Twitter page seen on mobile with his poll to step down as head of TwitterTwitter owner and CEO Elon Musk is searching for a new chief executive of the company, sources told CNBC's David Faber. In court in November, Musk said, "I expect to reduce my time at Twitter and find somebody else to run Twitter over time." "The question is not finding a CEO, the question is finding a CEO who can keep Twitter alive," he wrote. Malicious bots or inauthentic accounts may also be able to register a response to a Twitter poll. Sources told Faber that Musk's search for a new CEO has been ongoing and began before the Twitter poll was made.

Investors have urged Musk to step down as Twitter CEO and punished Tesla stock, which is down nearly 60% this year and hit a fresh two-year low on Monday. On a Twitter poll from Musk on Sunday asking whether he should step down as Twitter CEO, 57.5% of 17.5 million people voted "yes." Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management and a big Tesla bull, said last week that he would run for Tesla board and had notified Tesla. Leo KoGuan, a major individual Tesla shareholder, wrote on Twitter earlier that Musk had "abandoned Tesla and Tesla has no working CEO." "The whole situation is just weird, and weird is being kind," said Matthew Tuttle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management.

☆ U.S. Senator Warren questions Tesla board oversight of Musk purchase of Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Warren said Musk had not explained how he is managing conflicts between his role as Twitter CEO and his position at Tesla. “As the owner of Twitter, Mr. Musk may decide to run the company to maximize badly-needed revenue, even if that includes great deals for Tesla’s competitors and potential injury to Tesla." She asked for "detailed information on how the Tesla Board is monitoring these conflicts of interest and Mr. Musk’s appropriation of Tesla assets to Twitter, what guidelines the Tesla Board has put in place to protect Tesla" by Jan. 3. Leo KoGuan, a major individual Tesla shareholder, wrote on Twitter earlier that Musk "abandoned Tesla and Tesla has no working CEO. Separately, Twitter users voted in a poll for Elon Musk to step down as Twitter CEO.

☆ U.S. senator Warren questions Musk purchase of Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) takes part in an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) phone bank in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. December 2, 2022. Warren said Musk had not explained how he will manage conflicts between his role as Twitter CEO and his position at Tesla. "Twitter relies on advertising revenue from automobile companies that are in direct competition with Tesla, including Audi, Chevrolet, Ford, GM, Jeep, and Volkswagen,” wrote Warren. “As the owner of Twitter, Mr. Musk may decide to run the company to maximize badly-needed revenue, even if that includes great deals for Tesla’s competitors and potential injury to Tesla." Separately, Twitter users voted in a poll for Elon Musk to step down as CEO.

☆ Elizabeth Warren calls out Elon Musk for ‘unavoidable’ conflicts of interest caused by Twitter takeover
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Senator Elizabeth Warren is raising concerns about conflicts of interest and potential legal violations for Tesla following Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter. In a (TSLA)%20Board%20on%20Musk%20Concerns.pdf” target=”_blank”>letter to Tesla (TSLA) Chair Robyn Denholm, the Massachusetts Democrat argued Tesla (TSLA) shareholders may be hurt by its CEO’s ownership of Tesla (TSLA) and questioned whether the electric car maker’s board is doing enough to address the issues it poses. Musk’s acquisition created unavoidable conflicts of interest,” Warren wrote in the letter dated Sunday. “As the owner of Twitter, Mr. Musk may decide to run the company to maximize badly-needed revenue, even if that includes great deals for Tesla’s competitors and potential injury to Tesla,” Warren wrote. Noting Tesla’s board has legal obligations it must fulfill, Warren asked the board to respond to a series of questions about its handling of the situation by January 3.

☆ Sen. Warren warns Tesla board that Musk may have failed to meet his legal duties due to Twitter takeover
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote to the chair of Tesla's board Robyn Denholm expressing concern that CEO Elon Musk has failed to meet his legal duties since buying Twitter for $44 billion. "This use of Tesla employees raises obvious questions about whether Mr. Musk is appropriating resources from a publicly traded firm, Tesla, to benefit his own private company, Twitter," Warren wrote, adding that it could violate Musk's "legal duty of loyalty to Tesla." She also suggested the arrangements could violate legal requirements to make public employment agreements with executive officers, which Warren said Tesla has not done. Warren added that the debt Musk took on to buy Twitter could also create conflicts, like incentivizing him to have Tesla overpay for Twitter advertising to infuse it with cash. WATCH: Twitter is now Elon Musk's company — Here's how experts responded to the news

☆ Musk set to finally take wraps off Tesla truck - to tough crowd
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Hyunjoo Jin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Musk had promised, for instance, that Tesla's mass-market electric sedan Model 3 would be priced at $35,000, a claim that bombed. But in October Musk said Tesla vehicles were not ready to take humans out of the loop. "Tesla team just completed a 500 mile drive with a Tesla Semi weighing in at 81,000 lbs!" For Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who has expressed skepticism about all-electric trucks, Musk said: "(Gates) can drive it himself if he wants!". "I want to take diesel trucks off the road," he said, adding that federal incentives for trucks that run on hydrogen could be more substantial than those battery electric trucks.

☆ Elon Musk’s $50 billion trial comes to an end today
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Matt Mcfarland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington, DC CNN —The trial for the Tesla shareholder lawsuit examining CEO Elon Musk’s unprecedented compensation package will wrap up this afternoon. The net value of the compensation package is $50.9 billion today, after Tesla’s valuation soared more than 1,000% at its peak since shareholders approved the package. Several corporate governance experts told CNN Business that it’s clear Tesla’s board of directors lacks independence from Musk. At the time of the 2018 compensation package, Kimbal said it was “very unlikely” that Elon would walk away from his role of CEO at Tesla. That’s just not how Elon operates,” Kimbal Musk said.

☆ Elon Musk takes the stand in lawsuit over his Tesla pay
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Matt Mcfarland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington, DC CNN —Tesla CEO Elon Musk is testifying this morning in a shareholder lawsuit examining the massive compensation package that helped make him the world’s richest person. Musk was awarded the compensation package in 2018, and shareholders approved the deal at the time. They’ve also contrasted Musk’s compensation with the average Tesla salary, which they’ve said is $40,000. Musk’s compensation package goals were characterized t as lofty and incredibly difficult to achieve. This is a developing story and will be updated throughout Musk’s testimony.

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