Tesla President Robin Denholmwho is one of Luck The strongest womendidn't mince words when responding to a Delaware judge's criticism of the board's oversight — as well as its own oversight — of CEO Elon Musk.
In an interview with Financial TimesShe spoke about Musk's historic compensation package, worth more than $50 billion, and the Delaware court ruling in January that invalidated it, with the judge describing board oversight as “disorganized.”
The judge also singled out Denholm, who is based in Australia, saying she too had been “non-compliant” and suggested she had not been objective enough due to… A “life-changing” windfall of $280 million It achieved this by selling Tesla stock options in 2021 and 2022.
“This is nonsense,” Denholm said. foot. “I had to look up that word… I'll tell you, anyone who knows me, knows I'm not weak, now that I know what that word means. And it's probably the furthest thing from the truth. I'm really intense and very diligent at what I do.
She justified her stock awards by repeatedly defending Musk's compensation package, saying the stock rose as the company's performance improved.
Denholm added that rather than clouding her objectivity, the enormous wealth generated from the sale of her stock options enhanced her independence.
“If I didn’t agree with something that was happening at the company, I could leave tomorrow,” she said. “The fact that you sold stocks makes you more financially independent.”
Fortunately, she called the Delaware judge's claim that she's too close to Musk “absolute BS.”
Tesla appointed Denholm to the board in 2014 and named her chair in 2018, after Musk's infamous “funding secured” tweet said he would take the company private at $420 a share.
In a settlement with the SEC over the tweet, Musk had to step down as chairman, pay a fine, and get approval for the tweets from Tesla's lawyers.
Denholm admitted to foot “We're having difficult conversations about the tweets,” but she rejected the idea that she was Musk's babysitter.
“For me, the role of the chair is to make sure that the board has a good relationship with the CEO and the executive team,” she said. “We are there on behalf of shareholders to ensure that management is doing its job, and its job is primarily to increase shareholder value over time.”
More recently, she and other board members have been trying to win over shareholders ahead of Tesla's annual meeting on June 13, which could be crucial to the company's future. In fact, despite Musk's aversion to marketing, Tesla even bought ads To convince shareholders to support Tesla's move to reincorporate in Texas – and Approval of Musk's standard pay package From 2018.
in Invitation to proxy statement Shareholders at the meeting, Denholm wrote last month that a “yes” vote on the pay package would “restore shareholder democracy at Tesla.”
She added: “Because the Delaware court objected to your decision, Elon has not been paid for any of his work at Tesla over the past six years, which has helped achieve significant growth and shareholder value,” considering the matter “a matter of concern.” . “Basic fairness and respect for our CEO.”
The meeting comes during a difficult period for Tesla, as sales of electric cars have slowed amid fierce competition, while shares have declined from their highest levels in the era of the pandemic and the company has laid off employees.
This story originally appeared on Fortune.com