FT says James Murdoch in line for President Tesla. Answer by Musc: incorrect

SAN FRANCISCO / BOSTON (Reuters) – Elon Musk responded with a tweet: "It's inaccurate" after the Financial Times announced that Twenty-First Century Fox's incumbent president, James Murdoch, was the candidate Principal to replace him as President of Tesla Inc.

Tesla has until November 13 to appoint an independent chairman of the board. Part of last month's deal between Tesla, Musk and US regulators after Musk tweeted in August that he had secured financing to privatize the electric car maker.

The SEC settlement ended months of debate and some investors have called for increased scrutiny of Musk, whose recent erratic behavior by the public has raised concerns about his ability to lead the losing society of money in a stormy growth phase.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States, which said Musk's statements about privatization were fraudulent, allowed the billionaire to retain his role as CEO while forcing him to relinquish his presidency.

Musk had said he was considering privatizing Tesla at a price of $ 420 a share, a slang figure for marijuana. He tweeted the denial of three words from the Financial Times story on Wednesday at 4:20 pm (23:20 GMT), about six hours after the newspaper's publication.

In a vote of confidence for Musk, shareholder T. Rowe Price Group Inc. said in a document filed on Wednesday that he had raised his stake to 10.2% by the end of September, against a just under 7% in June.

The Financial Times quoted two people informed in discussions that Murdoch was the main candidate for the job.

Murdoch, already an independent director of Tesla, said he wanted the job, the report said.

Son of Fox mogul Rupert Murdoch, he joined Tesla's board of directors last year after years of working with media companies. He has no experience in manufacturing and has never run a company manufacturing cars or electric vehicles.

Murdoch could not be immediately contacted for comment. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. Twenty-First Century Fox declined to comment.

ROLES OF THE COUNCIL

Musk is the public face of Tesla and any president should face his powerful personality. With its bold vision and daring, Tesla's valuation has sometimes overshadowed that of traditional, well-established American manufacturers, with billions of revenues, and the company has assembled legions of fans, despite repeated production problems.

"The question about James Murdoch is this:" Is he the guy who will be able to establish that level of authority with Elon Musk? Asked Abby Adlerman, CEO of Boardspan, a corporate governance consulting firm.

Murdoch, who is almost 45 years old and is a contemporary of Musk, recently waged a battle between Fox and Comcast Corp to buy out the European pay-TV company Sky, which he also chaired.

Alice Enders, a media analyst, said her record in representing independent shareholders of Sky was exemplary.

"Her experience is very recent and very relevant," she said.

Investors worried that the Tesla board will be too closely linked to Musk led to the addition of two independent directors, including Murdoch, in July 2017.

Earlier this year, leading US voting advisers Glass Lewis & Co and Institutional Shareholder Services, as well as union-affiliated investment advisor CtW Investment Group, recommended investors vote "against" Murdoch's re-election as as Tesla's director at the annual meeting of the company. held on June 5th.

Although CtW referred to a lack of relevant experience and a "troubled history as an officer and director," the two proxy companies warned that Murdoch had already sat on too many boards of directors.

Murdoch currently serves on the boards of Twenty-First Century Fox and News Corp. He resigned from Sky Plc on Tuesday following Comcast Corp's takeover of the broadcaster.

He was named CEO of Sky, founded by his father, in 2003, becoming the youngest CEO of a FTSE 100 company.

"Under his leadership, Sky is committed to the path of technology," Enders said. "It's no coincidence that he oversaw this strategy, which was really different from that of other pay-TV companies and, in my opinion, it was his most valuable contribution."

Murdoch replaced his father as president of Sky in 2007, but was forced to leave in 2012 after being involved in the telephone piracy scandal in Britain.

He returned to Sky's board in 2016 after rebuilding his career at Fox.

Courteney Keatinge, director of research at Glass Lewis, said Wednesday that although the departure of Murdoch from Sky could allay some concerns, the presidency of Tesla would still require a big commitment because the company was under pressure on many fronts .

"I would always have reservations about the time that he could attribute to that," Keatinge said.

According to the FT report, external options were still under study.

According to Dieter Waizenegger, executive director of CtW Investment Group, it was important to choose a wide range of candidates, because "investors really need to be wary of the fact that the board can make the choice easily here" by opting for Murdoch.

His brother Lachlan Murdoch will succeed Murdoch as general manager of Twenty First Century Fox, after the media group has finalized the sale of most of its assets to Walt Disney.

"STABILITY AT THE TOP"

Tesla is facing a crucial moment as it struggles to produce its Model 3 sedan in high volume and to deliver it quickly to its customers in a context of tight cash which preoccupies some analysts. Musk promised that the loss-making company would be profitable and its cash flow positive in the third and fourth quarters.

Concerns about production delays and manufacturing difficulties have been exacerbated by a series of damaging actions, including the insult of Musk's insulting analysts during a conference call, the company's ## 147 ######################################################################################## 39, call a British caveman rescuer pedophile and joke the day of the April fish to the bankruptcy of Tesla.

Shares are down 20% since the beginning of the year.

"Elon Musk is building a great company, but it has been erratic to think of his investors," said Chaim Siegel, an analyst at Elazar Advisors. "The company needs some stability at the top to regain investor confidence."

Under the SEC agreement, Musk is not eligible to be re-elected as president for three years. Tesla must also appoint two new independent directors to its board.