Tesla Board Overcomes Critics as Investors Back Musk, Directors
Tesla shareholders sided with the board, defeating a proposal that required chairman be an independent director.
(Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc. shareholders sided with its besieged board by defeating a proposal to require that the chairman be an independent director and approving the re-election of three directors criticized by an activist investor group.
Shareholders sided with the board’s recommendations on all agenda items, Todd Maron, Tesla’s general counsel, said during the company’s annual meeting Tuesday in Mountain View, California. The board advised shareholders to keep Elon Musk as both chief executive officer and chairman, and to re-elect Antonio Gracias, Tesla’s lead independent director; Kimbal Musk, a food industry entrepreneur and Elon’s brother; and James Murdoch, CEO of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.
An individual shareholder put forth the proposal that would have required an independent chairman, which was backed by proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis. CtW Investment Group, which works with union pension funds, had urged shareholders to vote against all three directors, arguing that issues including missed Model 3 production targets showed the board has been insufficient in governing Musk, 46, and the company.
To contact the reporter on this story: Dana Hull in San Francisco at dhull12@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Jamie Butters, Kevin Miller
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