Tesla names Telstra exec Robyn Denholm as chairwoman

Move follows rocky few months at Tesla after Elon Musk row with SEC

Tesla said Ms Denholm will be serving as Tesla chair on a full-time basis. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
Tesla said Ms Denholm will be serving as Tesla chair on a full-time basis. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

Electric carmaker Tesla said Robyn Denholm, currently chief financial officer at Australian telecoms operator Telstra Corp, will replace Elon Musk as its chairwoman.

Ms Denholm will leave her role as chief financial officer and head of strategy of Telstra once her six-month notice period with the company is complete, Tesla said late on Wednesday.

Tesla said Ms Denholm will be serving as Tesla chairwoman on a full-time basis.

She will temporarily step down as chairwoman of Tesla’s Audit Committee until she leaves Telstra, the company said.

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Tesla weathered a rocky few months in the wake of Musk’s tweets that he had “funding secured” for a deal, later scuttled, to take Tesla private. Musk and Tesla settled with the US SEC in September after the agency sued for fraud.

The settlement required Tesla and Musk to pay a fine of $20 million each and for Musk to give up his chairman role for three years. – Reuters