Tesla announces replacement for Musk as board chairman

Tesla’s board on Thursday named the chief financial officer of Australia’s largest telecommunications company as its new chair, replacing Elon Musk as part of a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC).

The company announced that Robyn Denholm would take over as chairwoman, effective immediately. She was already a member of the Tesla board of directors.

{mosads}Musk, the company’s founder, will continue to serve as chief executive.

“Robyn has extensive experience in both the tech and auto industries, and she has made significant contributions as a Tesla Board member over the past four years in helping us become a profitable company,” Musk said in a statement.

Tesla and Musk reached a settlement last month with the SEC in which the company and its founder each paid a $20 million civil penalty. Musk was also required to step down as chairman of the board.

The settlement stemmed from an investigation into a tweet Musk sent in August in which he said he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share. Companies typically make such announcements in formal filings, and investigators questioned the timing of Musk’s tweet.