Tesla confirmed that Oracle\u2019s billionaire founder, Larry Ellison, is leaving its board of directors, and he won\u2019t be replaced.<\/p>\n
As part of Elon Musk\u2019s and Tesla\u2019s settlement with the SEC over the former\u2019s comments about taking the company private, the board had to nominate two new \u201cindependent\u201d directors within 90 days.<\/p>\n
The automaker complied by\u00a0appointing two new\u00a0independent directors to its board, Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, a longtime human resources executive, back in December 2018.<\/p>\n
Larry Ellison, who is one of the richest men on earth with a net worth of $60 billion, had previously disclosed that he made a \u201clarge\u201d investment in Tesla last year prior to being appointed to the board. After joining Tesla\u2019s board, he had to disclose his investment, which was worth about $1 billion at the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ellison was up for reelection at Tesla\u2019s upcoming annual shareholder\u2019s meeting, but Tesla has now disclosed that he will not seek reelection:<\/p>\n In June 2022, Lawrence J. Ellison, a Class III director, determined collectively with the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Board that he will not stand for reelection to the Board when his current term ends at the 2022 Annual Meeting. The Board currently expects to reduce the number of Board seats to seven upon the expiration of Mr. Ellison\u2019s term at the 2022 Annual Meeting, and therefore votes or proxies may not be submitted for the election of more than two board seats. The Board and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will continue to frequently evaluate the optimal size and composition of the Board to allow it to operate nimbly and efficiently, while maintaining new ideas, expertise and experience among its membership.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The automaker also said that it will not seek to replace Ellison and, therefore, Tesla\u2019s board simply will have one less seat for the time being.<\/p>\n While Ellison was elected as an independent board member, he was believed to closely align with Musk and support him. But other than that, it isn\u2019t likely to affect Tesla in any major way. Musk still has a strong hold on the company.<\/p>\n\n
Electrek\u2019s Take<\/h2>\n