Tesla chairman talks about Musk: I don't think he faces any challenges

Last fall, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fell out with Elon Musk, forcing him to give up his role as chairman of Tesla's board, according to Ars Technica. The agency hopes the move will give Tesla's board independence and more robust oversight of the company's CEO. Robyn Denholm was tasked with the responsibility, but she doesn't think Musk needs to change his tweets -- or his unconventional management style.

"I don't think he faces any challenges," Denholm told Bloomberg in Sydney on Wednesday. "The company is doing very well and the board itself is very busy. We meet with him all the time."

On August 7 last year, Musk tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla private, which led to the SEC's investigation and prosecution of him for misleading investors and suspected securities fraud. The two sides finally reached a settlement in September. Later on February 19 this year, Musk repeated his old tricks and revealed Tesla's production this year in a tweet. The SEC has asked the judge to rule that Musk violated last year's settlement agreement. From this, people can imagine that Tesla's board of directors will definitely put pressure on Musk to change the way he posts tweets to avoid such legal difficulties in the future. But Denholm did not mention this.

“For many executives today, Twitter is part of daily business,” Denholm said. “In my opinion, he’s using it wisely.”

Denholm’s indulgent stance toward Musk shouldn’t be too surprising, since she served on Tesla’s board for several years before being promoted to chairwoman, meaning she was on the board during Elon Musk’s Twitter spree, for example, jokingly refuting claims that Tesla was bankrupt and baselessly accusing a Thai cave explorer of being a pedophile.

Denholm argued that Musk and Tesla did not violate the settlement agreement they signed with the SEC.

"We believe we have done everything that needed to be done under the terms of the settlement, but obviously this matter will go to court and it will go from there," Denholm said.

Judge Alison Nathan, who is overseeing Musk's dispute with the SEC, will hear oral arguments from lawyers on both sides of the SEC's contempt motion on April 4 in New York.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.