(Bloomberg/Gregory Korte) — Tesla Inc. Board Chair Robyn Denholm dismissed concerns that Elon Musk’s political activity has depressed sales at the electric vehicle maker and gave him wide latitude on future electoral engagement.
“What he does from a political perspective in terms of his political motivations is up to him,” Denholm said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Friday. “From a politics perspective, obviously we’re in a democracy, so everyone gets to voice their points of view.”
“My view is over the long term people buy things that they really love. Tesla vehicles are things people really love,” she added, noting that Musk is “front and center” at the carmaker after several months at the White House.
Musk has been one of the most consequential political figures of the past two years, using his considerable wealth and his social media platform to boost efforts to get President Donald Trump elected in 2024.
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He was the single largest contributor to electioneering groups in that campaign, and he used his influence to convince Trump to create a Department of Government Efficiency and put him in charge of it, before a volatile and public falling out between the two billionaires.
All of that political involvement weighed on the Tesla board’s attempts to renegotiate a pay package with Musk that led to an unprecedented $1 trillion offer disclosed last week.
Directors acknowledged Musk’s “high public profile” and concerns politics could distract from his leadership, reporting that they sought “assurances that Musk’s involvement with the political sphere would wind down in a timely manner.”
–With assistance from Bill Allison, Ed Ludlow and Caroline Hyde.
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