Murdoch, who did not name the potential successor, was testifying in a trial over Musk’s 2018 Tesla pay package.
When a plaintiff's lawyer asked him to confirm that Musk has never identified someone as a potential successor CEO, Murdoch said, “He actually has,” adding that happened in the “last few months.”
Some Tesla investors are worried about whether Musk can focus adequately on his role as CEO of the world’s most valuable carmaker now that he has been running Twitter Inc after a protracted buyout that at one point he tried to scrap. Murdoch testified that Musk has had some Tesla engineers work at Twitter.
Murdoch’s testimony did not make it clear how specific the conversation about the successor was. Antonio Gracias, a longtime friend of Musk who was also a Tesla board member from 2007 to 2021, testified that there were conversations of finding an “administrative CEO” who oversees sales, finance and human resources “so Musk can focus his time as chief product officer which is his most vital function.”
But he added they could not find one, without elaborating on the timing of the discussions.
Musk claims no role in setting his $55-bn pay deal at Tesla
Elon Musk told a Delaware judge he had no role in setting up his $55 billion pay deal to run Tesla in 2018 and that he was focused instead on solving the complex problem of creating a sustainable electric-vehicle company.
“I do not have any understanding of the internal processes by which this compensation structure was obtained,” Musk said during the third day of trial over a lawsuit by a Tesla investor who claims his compensation was excessive and should be returned to the company. Musk, the world’s richest person, said he never discussed his compensation with board members or dictate the terms of the deal.
-BLOOMBERG
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