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Tesla names Larry Ellison and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson to board after SEC settlement

Tesla names two new independent directors after SEC settlement
2 Hours Ago | 01:30

Tesla named Larry Ellison and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson to its board on Friday, in compliance with an SEC settlement. The appointments add needed business and human resources expertise to the board — though add to questions about CEO Elon Musk's influence over the board.

Wilson-Thompson is the global head of human resources at Walgreens Boots Alliance and a former executive at Kellogg. Ellison is co-founder and executive chairman of Oracle, and recently disclosed a massive personal stake in Tesla.

“I am very close friends to Elon Musk and I am a very big investor in Tesla,” Ellison said at a financial analyst meeting at the Oracle OpenWorld conference in October.

Ellison owns 3 million shares of Tesla stock, according to a company spokesperson. That stake would be worth close to $1 billion at Friday's opening price. In October, Ellison said Tesla was his second-largest holding and staunchly defended Musk against ongoing criticism of his behavior.

“You are telling me he is an idiot. I just want to know who you are so I know why I should believe you as opposed to my friend Elon,” Ellison said at the time.

Tesla and Musk agreed in September to appoint a new chairman and two independent board members after an SEC lawsuit alleging that Musk misled investors with a tweet about taking the company private at $420 a share.

Shares of Tesla rose as much as 3 percent Friday morning.

Source: Walgreens Boots Alliance
Kathleen Wilson-Thompson

“In conducting a widespread search over the last few months, we sought to add independent directors with skills that would complement the current board's experience. In Larry and Kathleen, we have added a preeminent entrepreneur and a human resources leader, both of whom have a passion for sustainable energy,” Tesla's existing directors said in a statement.

Tesla's board has historically been tightly linked to its CEO and includes, among others, his brother Kimbal Musk. The stipulation in the SEC settlement was intended to introduce more oversight of the CEO, who has dragged the company's stock lower with his unchecked use of social media and other antics.

Existing board member Robyn Denholm was named chair in November. Denholm was seen as an experienced though predictable pick at the time, but investors and analysts had been hoping for a truly independent, outside chairperson to fully check Musk.

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The two new board members are supposed to be independents, as well, though Ellison's personal ties to Musk leave some room for concern.

A Tesla spokesperson downplayed Ellison and Musk's personal relationship, saying the two had only socialized a handful of times and always in a group setting. The spokesperson said Musk and Ellison had not spoken for about a year leading up to Ellison's appointment to the board.

Meanwhile, longstanding Tesla board member and venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson has been “on leave” from the board for over a year, after reports of his alleged sexual misconduct. Those reports led to his being ousted from the eponymous venture firm he founded, DFJ, which backed both Tesla and Musk's other company, SpaceX. Jurvetson has disputed the allegations.

Besides appointing new board members, Tesla is supposed to form a committee to oversee other terms of the SEC settlement, and institute controls over both the company's and Musk's statements about Tesla on Twitter and elsewhere.

Ellison and Wilson-Thompson began serving on the board effective Thursday, Tesla said.

Correction: Larry Ellison and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson began serving on Tesla's board effective Dec. 27, 2018. A previous version of this story misstated when the appointments would be finalized.

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Tesla adds Larry Ellison, Walgreens exec to board

Tesla adds Larry Ellison, Walgreens exec to boardTesla Inc. added Larry Ellison and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson to its board, fulfilling the terms of the settlement reached with U.S. securities regulators over its CEO’s problematic posts about taking the company private.
Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle Corp., and Wilson-Thompson, the global chief human resources officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., join a board the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered to step up its governance and oversight measures after Elon Musk claimed in August to have had the funding and investor support for a buyout. The chief executive officer relinquished the role of chairman in November, and both he and the company agreed to pay $20 million penalties.
The new additions to the board put a bookend on a months-long distraction that at one point looked like it may cost Musk his future with the company. While reining him in may prove challenging, they’ll help steer a carmaker that’s made significant strides in profitably making and delivering electric vehicles.
Tesla’s shares rose 1.3 percent to $320.26 at 10:11 a.m. in New York after earlier gaining as much as 6 percent. The stock was up 1.5 percent this year through the close Thursday.
Ellison, 74, went off-script during an Oracle meeting with analysts in October to announce that he had been building a personal stake in Tesla and that it was his second-largest holding. He criticized how the media had covered Musk, 47, whom he called a close friend.
“This guy is landing rockets,” Ellison said in October of Musk, who also runs Space Exploration Technologies Corp. “You know, he’s landing rockets on robot drone rafts in the ocean. And you’re saying he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Well, who else is landing rockets? You ever land a rocket on a robot drone? Who are you?”
Tesla said in its statement announcing Ellison would be joining the board that he purchased 3 million shares of the electric-car maker earlier this year.
Tesla’s board now has 11 members, including three women. This fall, California became the first U.S. state to mandate that publicly traded companies have women on their boards. Those with at least seven directors need to have at least three women by 2021.
The SEC moved to punish Tesla and Musk because it alleged he committed fraud by tweeting that he had the “funding secured” to take the company private at $420 a share. The agency said this and other claims the CEO made on Aug. 7 were false and misleading and impacted Tesla’s stock.
Musk and Tesla reached the settlement with the SEC on Sept. 29 that gave the company 90 days to add directors and take other actions. Since then, the CEO has publicly lampooned the agency and bristled at the notion that he’ll change his Twitter habits.
Tesla’s legal department also has been going through shakeups since Musk’s run-in with the SEC.
The company tapped Dane Butswinkas, the Washington trial lawyer who represented the CEO in his legal battle with the agency, earlier this month to become general counsel. He’ll replace Todd Maron, who’s leaving Tesla in January after five years. Before he joined the company, he represented Musk through two divorces.
In November, Phil Rothenberg, a vice president on Tesla’s legal staff, left to became general counsel at Sonder, a hospitality startup. Rothenberg previously worked at the SEC.
Read or Share this story: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/mobility/2018/12/28/tesla-adds-larry-ellison-walgreens-exec-board/38807445/

Tesla names Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Walgreens executive to board as part of SEC settlement

Tesla has added two independent directors to its board, Oracle founder and executive chairman Larry Ellison and Walgreens executive Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, as part of a settlement with U.S. securities regulators over CEO Elon Musk’s infamous tweets about taking the company private. The pair joined the board as of December 27, Tesla said in an announcement early… Continue reading Tesla names Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Walgreens executive to board as part of SEC settlement

Tesla names Larry Ellison, Kathleen Wilson-Thompson to board

FILE PHOTO: A Tesla Model 3 car is displayed during a media preview at the Auto China 2018 motor show in Beijing, China April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) on Friday named two independent board directors as part of a September deal with federal regulators to move past the turbulence… Continue reading Tesla names Larry Ellison, Kathleen Wilson-Thompson to board

Tesla expands employee testing of its upgraded Autopilot hardware

DarthArt via Getty Images Tesla is looking for more people to test its new Autopilot hardware as part of its full self-driving system trials. According to Electrek, company chief Elon Musk has sent another email to employees in an effort to find a few hundred more internal participants for the system’s beta testing period. It’s… Continue reading Tesla expands employee testing of its upgraded Autopilot hardware

Musk: Tesla Supercharger Network Will Expand Greatly In Europe In 2019

5 H BY MARK KANE 100% of European coverage in 2019? According to the latest Elon Musk announcement on Twitter, Tesla is going to greatly expand its European Supercharging network. The goal is to cover all countries from west to east, and from north to south. Currently, a high density of Superchargers was achieved only in… Continue reading Musk: Tesla Supercharger Network Will Expand Greatly In Europe In 2019

Tesla Model 3 now in the running for IIHS Top Safety Pick+

2018 Tesla Model 3 Long-Range RWD
Most cars these days perform really well on crash tests.

Where they fall down in ratings from the IIHS is usually in either headlight performance or underperforming active safety features.

The IIHS confirmed on Wednesday via Twitter that updated headlights on the Tesla Model 3 received the Institute's highest “Good” rating, as first reported last week on TorqueNews.

The car's active safety systems—the adaptive cruise control and active lane control included with Autopilot—also received the Institute's top Superior rating for such systems.

That means the two primary obstacles to the car becoming an IIHS Top Safety Pick have been met.

The IIHS has still not crash-tested the Model 3, so it has not yet earned the Top Safety Pick+ rating. If the car were to receive a lower rating in one of the IIHS crash tests: moderate- and small-overlap front tests, a side test, or a roof-strength test, or measurements of its head restraints, it would jeopardize the Top Safety Pick+ rating, which the Institute gives only to cars that perform well in all its tests.

DON'T MISS: IIHS: Self-driving systems aren't that, and aren't ready for prime time

When the IIHS first tested the Model 3's headlights back in May, its headlights earned only an Acceptable rating—not high enough to win the Model 3 a Top Safety Pick+. (No Tesla has yet earned a Top Safety Pick+ designation. The Model S scored the second-highest “Acceptable” rating on the Institute's difficult small-overlap front crash test, and its headlights were rated Poor—the lowest rating. The Model X has not been rated.)

Since then, Tesla has improved the Model 3's headlights to reach farther down the road and produce less glare, both of which improved their rating.

The new rating applies to Model 3s made since June. So far, Tesla hasn't found a way to give the car new headlight reflectors via an over-the-air software update.

Would a Porsche Taycan Turbo confuse the Mission for sports-car brand’s electric car?

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Porsche Taycan production
The Porsche Taycan—since way back in its early 2015 Mission E Concept days—has been discussed by Porsche in two distinct ways.

On one hand it’s a Tesla rival, capable of meeting higher standards of performance than the Model S or Model 3. And on the other hand it’s at the lead of a big part of Porsche’s future, as it sees all (or nearly all) of its cars eventually becoming electric.

At the center of Porsche’s intent to one-up Tesla—outside of the Nürburgring bragging rights that might not matter to many Tesla fans—has been its 800-volt electrical architecture, and the faster 350-kw CCS-format charging that it allows without added bulk. Porsche Turbo Charging, as it’s been called along the way, allows an 80-percent charge in as little as 15 minutes, and the capability will be included in all Taycan production models.

DON’T MISS: Porsche Mission E to be called Porsche Taycan

Up until now Turbo Charging seemed like a healthy jab at Tesla and its Supercharger network, and a term that would be smart to place all over charging hardware and marketing materials while the advantage is theirs. However, it may never become a true shot at the bow.

Porsche is big on heritage and continuity, and a hint on model positioning for the production 2020 Porsche Taycan suggests that on the way to the future, the sports-car maker may not be willing to give up all of its internal-combustion past—perhaps especially its “Turbo” badge.

In correspondence from a “Porsche Global Brand Ambassador” at the automaker, The Drive’s Alex Roy was informed of initial pricing from the low $90,000 range up to over $130,000 (in line with what has previously been said). But what accompanied that was that there will be three models, Taycan, Taycan 4S, and Taycan Turbo.

Although this is a single correspondence, and the person who wrote the e-mail might have accidentally included Taycan Turbo—a “legacy automaker” stumble like the oil-change notices that were widespread for early Nissan Leaf owners—it’s crafted in a way that doesn’t leave a lot of room for that confusion.

CHECK OUT: Audi e-tron GT electric sports car is its take on Porsche Taycan

Porsche executives have said previously that the Taycan (Mission E) would borrow some pieces of existing Porsche model nomenclature. However, the term Turbo was not one we expected to see. When contacted by our colleagues at Motor Authority, Porsche Cars North America confirmed that no official pricing or information has been announced.

Porsche Mission E concept, 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show

As of earlier in the year, Porsche said that it was still working on how to present its high-power charging technology for North America. With one each at its 189 U.S. dealerships, several at each of its Experience Centers (LA and Atlanta), and a few more 350-kw CCS stations through Electrify America and EVgo, it’s likely that there will be more than 200 stations capable of charging the Taycan at its peak rate around the time the vehicle is launched.

READ MORE: Porsche already has a prototype that will charge faster than its 350-kw Taycan

Porsche currently has a number of models that are turbocharged yet don’t bear the Turbo badge, so it’s already using the badge to denote top-performance versions rather than everything that uses exhaust-fed forced induction.

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Tesla Model 3 headlights, Porsche Taycan Turbo, expiring tax credits: Today’s Car News

Porsche may be planning electric “Turbos.” Expiring electric-car tax credits hit U.S. automakers and benefit imports in contrast to Trump policies. And our Twitter followers are not optimistic about climate talks. All this and more on Green Car Reports. After Tesla updated the headlights on the Model 3, the IIHS retested them and gave the new…

Tesla Model 3 Performance Price = 50% of BMW M3 Price in China

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Published on December 18th, 2018 |

by Zachary Shahan

Tesla Model 3 Performance Price = 50% of BMW M3 Price in China

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December 18th, 2018 by Zachary Shahan

If the BMW 3 Series seems to be in trouble in the US due to the Tesla Model 3, it appears it might have a much bigger problem in China. The Tesla Model 3 Long Range is already at the top of the price range of a BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and lower-trim options should eventually arrive to compete with those models’ lower-trim options.

Additionally, at the highest end, the Tesla Model 3 Performance crushes the prices of the BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz AMG C 63 — as in, it’s approximately half the price of those premium-class competitors.

Don’t let the prices fool you, though — the Tesla Model 3 offers superior performance. As our friend Vincent, who shared all of this info with us, points out, the Tesla Model 3 Performance is even quicker than the BMW M4.

As Vincent shares, the prices of midsize luxury sedans in China (in USD) are as follows:

Audi A4 — $43,000–60,000
BMW 3 Series — $42,000–72,000
Mercedes-Benz C-Class — $46,000–72,000
Tesla Model 3 Long Range — $72,000

As far as the performance versions, you get:

BMW M3 — $162,000
BMW M4 — $184,000
Mercedes-Benz AMG C 63 — $173,623
Tesla Model 3 Performance — $81,160

Here are the original tweets about these comparisons:

In addition to those comparisons, Vincent highlighted that prices for the Tesla Model S and Model X dropped notably in the past week:

Taking into account huge fuel and operational savings from driving a Tesla Model 3 rather than a BMW or a Mercedes, as well as the many extra benefits of an electric car and especially a Tesla, I have to agree with Vincent’s comment that “I can’t find a reason to buy BMW … sorry, just can’t.” However, same goes for Mercedes, Audi, etc.

Expect a good first quarter for Tesla in China.

If you’re looking to buy a Tesla, appreciate my work, and need a referral code, here you go: http://ts.la/tomasz7234

Images via Tesla

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About the Author

Zachary Shahan Zach is tryin' to help society help itself (and other species). He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor. He's also the president of Important Media and the director/founder of EV Obsession and Solar Love. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, and Canada.

Zach has long-term investments in TSLA, FSLR, SPWR, SEDG, & ABB — after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in these particular companies and feels like they are good cleantech companies to invest in. But he offers no professional investment advice and would rather not be responsible for you losing money, so don't jump to conclusions.

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