Tesla’s board on Thursday named the chief financial officer of Australia’s largest telecommunications company as its new chair, replacing Elon Musk as part of a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC).
The company announced that Robyn Denholm would take over as chairwoman, effective immediately. She was already a member of the Tesla board of directors.
{mosads}Musk, the company’s founder, will continue to serve as chief executive.
“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 in helping us become a profitable company,” Musk said in a statement.
Tesla and Musk reached a settlement last month with the SEC in which the company and its founder each paid a $20 million civil penalty. Musk was also required to step down as chairman of the board.
The settlement stemmed from an investigation into a tweet Musk sent in August in which he said he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share. Companies typically make such announcements in formal filings, and investigators questioned the timing of Musk’s tweet.