X

Tesla appoints Robyn Denholm to replace Elon Musk as chair

Denholm will leave her positions at Telstra after a six-month notice period.

Zoey Chong Reporter
Zoey is CNET's Asia News Reporter based in Singapore. She prefers variety to monotony and owns an Android mobile device, a Windows PC and Apple's MacBook Pro all at the same time. Outside of the office, she can be found binging on Korean variety shows, if not chilling out with a book at a café recommended by a friend.
See full bio
Zoey Chong
Tesla Update v7.0 Enables Self-driving Test In China

Bye, Musk. Tesla just announced a new chair to its board.

 VCG/VCG via Getty Images

Tesla's found a new chair of its board to replace Elon Musk.

Robyn Denholm, Telstra's chief financial officer and head of strategy, has been named to head the company's board with immediate effect late Wednesday, the automaker said in a statement posted to its blog.

robyn-denholm

Robyn Denholm is Tesla's new board chair.

 Tesla

Denholm will leave the Australian telco following a six-month notice period, during which her predecessor Elon Musk will provide her support to "ensure a smooth transition," according to the statement. Prior to her appointment, she has served as an independent board director prior to since 2014, Tesla added.

The announcement comes after Musk was ousted as board chair in September as part of a settlement with the SEC, which filed a lawsuit against him following an August tweet in which he said he was considering taking the company private, surprising investors, analysts and the board. Musk had Musk later backtracked on the tweet, but the damage was done.

"Robyn has extensive experience in both the tech and auto industries and she has made significant contributions as a Tesla Board member over the past four years," Musk said.

"I look forward to working even more closely with Robyn as we continue accelerating the advent of sustainable energy," he added.

Reaction to the announcement was mixed on Twitter. Most commenters approve of Tesla's decision though there are a few upset by it.

Watch this: SEC sues Elon Musk for securities fraud over misleading tweets