Tesla CEO Elon Musk warned on Tuesday that the electrical vehicle maker is just not proof against the worldwide economy, which he said will likely be difficult over the subsequent 12 months.
At the corporate’s annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas, Musk spoke concerning the demand for cars, earning greater than competitors in a slow economy, and likewise said he would conduct an external audit of the cobalt mines that provide Tesla with a key ingredient for production. batteries.
In an indication of adverse times even for Tesla, the leader in the electrical automotive market, Musk said the corporate would attempt to advertise its vehicles, which it has not done before.
“Tesla is just not proof against the worldwide economic environment. I expect the situation to be difficult on a macroeconomic level for at the very least the subsequent 12 months,” said the billionaire, casually wearing a black T-shirt and pants.
At the meeting, shareholders voted to appoint the corporate’s co-founder and former CTO, JB Straubel, to the board. Proxy Glass Lewis has urged investors to vote against Straubel’s nomination, citing concerns about his independence.
They also rejected a proposal to publish a report that sought to determine Musk’s succession plans.
Musk has been under pressure to deal with investor concerns concerning the lack of a transparent successor, waning demand and delays in some latest models, in addition to his involvement with social media platform Twitter, which he bought in October.
“There was a transient distraction because I needed to do major open-heart surgery on Twitter to make sure the corporate’s survival,” Musk said on Tuesday. Last week, he announced that former NBCUniversal promoting head Linda Yaccarino would replace him as Twitter CEO and that he would give attention to products and technology at the corporate.
In April, Musk said Tesla would prioritize sales growth over profit after failing to fulfill its margin goal on account of aggressive price cuts.
Musk emailed employees on Monday that the corporate couldn’t hire latest employees unless it personally approved them, including contractors, and asked management to “consider carefully” before applying for jobs.
Tesla shareholders on Tuesday quickly voted down the board’s recommendations on nearly the entire proposals. The meeting was attended by shareholders who won invitations in a lottery and were also there broadcast live.
Tesla shares closed at $166.52 on Tuesday and were up 0.6% in after-hours trading. The stock is down about 60% from its November 2021 high, hit by Musk’s Twitter distraction and concerns about weakening demand for electric cars.
Board candidates
According to Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, Straubel, who’s the CEO of Redwood Materials, a battery and materials recycling company, is taken into account a possible successor to Musk.
Shareholders also voted to re-elect Musk and Chairwoman Robyn Denholm as board members.
Proxy advisory firm ISS really useful a vote against Denholm, citing concerns about a scarcity of control over the usage of Tesla shares as collateral for loans made by Musk and his brother Kimbal.
Inheritance
Investors voted against the publication of the “Key Person Risk” report. The application aimed to discover key people and establish succession plans.
Musk said ultimately yr’s shareholder meeting that he would stick with the corporate so long as he was useful. In November, Tesla CEO James Murdoch testified in court that Musk had identified someone as a possible successor.
Tesla board members discussed CFO Zach Kirkhorn as a possible successor to CEO position, reports the Wall Street Journal last week, citing an individual aware of the matter.
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