Automobile giant Tesla said on Wednesday that Airbnb Inc. co-founder Joseph Gebbia had joined the auto firm’s board, reversing a decision to cut the number of directors.
Following the departure of Oracle Inc. co-founder Larry Ellison in August, Tesla previously announced in June that it would only have seven seats on the board, drawing criticism from shareholder organizations for the absence of independent directors.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) received a complaint from SOC Investment Group in July, alleging that Tesla’s proposal did not follow a 2018 executive order with the SEC, which required the presence of two independent advisers. That deal was reached after Tesla owner Elon Musk announced plans to go private, Reuters reported.
Tesla appointed Ellison in December 2018. Gebbia, a billionaire American designer and internet entrepreneur joins Tesla after announcing in July that he would step down from his role and take on an advertising role at Airbnb. Meanwhile, Musk, taking it to Twitter, tweeted, “Congratulations on an amazing business with Airbnb, now for Book 2!.”
In text exchanges published this year in ongoing shareholder litigation, Gebbia hailed Musk’s decision to go private as a “baller move,” to which Musk responded by saying, “It sucks. be public”.
Some experts doubt Tesla’s decision to add Gebbia to the board in terms of his ability to add value to the company. Some think it’s more about a gathering of Musk brothers than hiring someone new for it.
(With agency contributions)
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