Elon Musk says he plans to 'retire' Tesla's chairman title
Elon Musk has said he plans to “retire” Tesla’s chairman title, weeks after he was forced to give it up.
On Tuesday, the electric car maker’s chief executive tweeted: “‘Chairman’ is an honorific, not executive role, which means it’s not needed to run Tesla. Will retire that title in three years.”
It comes just weeks after US regulators forced Mr Musk to step down as chairman as part of a settlement over his aborted plan to take Tesla private.
Robyn Denholm, a longtime board member, was appointed to replace him last month, and Mr Musk was barred from seeking re-election for three years under the terms of the settlement.
A public company operating without a chairman is unusual, although not forbidden in US law, according to Samuel Dibble, a partner at the law firm Baker Botts.
Incorrect. “Chairman” is an honorific, not executive role, which means it’s not needed to run Tesla. Will retire that title at Tesla in 3 years. 60 Mins edited out end of my sentence, where I said I could do whatever I want. They cut “provided I have the support of shareholders”.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 11, 2018
A Tesla spokesman did not respond when asked if a similar role would exist with a different title. Tesla’ bylaws state that in the event of no chairman, the chief executive - currently Mr Musk - would assume responsibilities such as running shareholder and board meetings, so long as they have the permission of their board.
In a recent interview, Mr Musk appeared to question the authority of his new chairman. He said he had handpicked Ms Denholm and that she should not be expected to watch over him, saying the idea was “not realistic”.
“I am the largest shareholder in the company. And I can just call for a shareholder vote and get anything done that I want,” Mr Musk said, according to a transcript of the interview with CBS News.
He claimed that the broadcaster had cut the end of his sentence, in which he added: “provided I have the support of shareholders”.
Mr Musk was forced to step down as chairman as part of a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which came after he claimed to have “funding secured” for a deal to take Tesla private.
After it emerged that he did not have the funding lined up, Mr Musk abandoned the buyout plan. Both Tesla and its chief executive were forced to pay $20m (£16m) fines.
The SEC did not comment on Mr Musk’s tweet.
