One longtime director, the venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, had left his firm after an internal investigation found he had slept with multiple women in the tech industry and used illegal drugs.
Some of the details had been splashed across the press in 2017, and Tesla directors informally discussed how they should handle it, according to people familiar with the situation. Some urged him to resign.
Luckily, Jurvetson, even though the company designated him an independent director, had a good friend with whom he had deep financial ties and also attended parties with, using ecstasy and LSD: Musk.
Musk pushed directors in private conversations to allow Jurvetson to take an unusual leave of absence from the board of the public company, and then step down on his own accord in 2020, the people said. Jurvetson remains a director at Musk's privately held rocket company, SpaceX.
"The answer was do nothing and see what happens," said another former independent Tesla director and good friend of Musk's, Antonio Gracias, in a 2021 court deposition, when asked how the board handled the Jurvetson situation. Gracias and his venture-capital firm held investments recently valued at about $1.5 billion in Musk companies.
Multiple other directors of Musk companies have deep personal and financial ties to the billionaire entrepreneur, and have profited enormously from the relationship. The connections are an extreme blurring of friendship and fortune and raise questions among some shareholders about the independence of the board members charged with overseeing the chief executive. Such conflicts could run afoul of the loose rules governing what qualifies as independence at publicly traded companies.
On Tuesday, a Delaware judge struck down Musk's multibillion-dollar pay package at Tesla, saying board members who signed off on it in 2018 were beholden to Musk.
Bu hikaye Mint Mumbai dergisinin February 05, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Mint Mumbai dergisinin February 05, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Premium the watchword for SBI as Q2 profits surge
Chairman says the bank will compete on quality of service, not on deposit rates
India eyes grants, loans for Global South at COP29
India plans to leverage its climate commitments to pitch for grants and concessional loans, instead of investments for the Global South, at the upcoming climate negotiations in Baku, two people aware of the matter said.
Tata Steel's Q2 show weighed down by slow Europe revival
The September quarter (Q2FY25) earnings of Tata Steel Ltd had its share of positives even as European operations remain a drag.
Spectre of fall in revenue nixes telecom levy cut
Indian telecom service providers' hopes to get relief from levies on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) might get dashed on the Union finance ministry's revenue concerns, according to two senior officials close to the discussions.
Zomato, Swiggy face CCI heat on antitrust violation
An investigation by India's antitrust body found food delivery giants Zomato and SoftBank-backed Swiggy breached competition laws, with their business practices favouring select restaurants listed on their platforms, documents show.
Trump enters just as the Fed is shifting its focus
With its second consecutive interest-rate cut this year, the Federal Reserve is attempting to boost the odds of a soft landing.
Regulator gets staff to enforce drug quality
The govt is planning to fill 250 new positions to strengthen enforcement
Govt unveils scheme for meditech industry
The government on Friday launched a scheme aimed at strengthening the medical devices industry with an initial outlay of ₹500 crore for three years 2024-2025 to 2026-27.
RATAN TATA MADE INDIA A BETTER, KINDER PLACE
Shri Ratan Tata's support for the Swachh Bharat Mission was close to my heart
Ministry cancels allocation of coal block to JSW Steel
The Union coal ministry has annulled the allocation of the Banai-Bhalumunda coal block in Chhattisgarh to Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel over the non-payment of a performance bank guarantee worth about ₹1,000 crore.