Will James Murdoch be the new Chairman of Tesla?

It is reported that some Tesla directors have proposed James Murdoch, a fellow board member of Tesla and Chief Executive Officer of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. to succeed Elon Musk as its Chairman.

It is reported that Murdoch hasn’t volunteered for the post nor has he discussed it with any other director.

As earlier mentioned in People Matters, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had charged Musk with misleading investors with tweets on 7th August that said he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 a share and had secured funding. The tweets had no basis in fact, and the ensuring market chaos hurt investors, it claimed. As per SEC, Musk’s statements violate the 1934 Securities Exchange Act, and that Musk “knew or was reckless in not knowing” that his tweets were not accurate and correct. As a part of the settlement, Elon Musk has agreed to pay $20 Mn each to financial regulators and Musk will step down as the company’s chairman but remain as chief executive.

While the board has not engaged in any "serious" discussions of who should be the chairman, some members of Tesla’s board of directors have proposed 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch take over the role of chairman following Elon Musk's settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

However, according to some reports, it is also speculated that Murdoch may not be everyone on the board's top choice, citing his implication in scandals at 21st Century Fox subsidiaries Fox and News Corp, as well as a lack of relevant automotive or green technology experience.

Murdoch, who owns roughly 10,000 shares of Tesla also serves on the boards of Sky, TrueX Media, 21st Century Fox, New Corp, and Yankee Global Enterprises, as well as a handful of arts organizations, according to Bloomberg data.

ImageCredits: Variety.com