The boards of SpaceX and Tesla have each formed special committees to review a possible merger. The special committees, which consist of independent directors, were created at the request of shareholders, according to Elon Musk, CEO and the largest individual shareholder of both companies. Musk didn’t name the members of these special committees, only noting that they were independent directors.
Tesla has seven independent board members under Nasdaq’s listing standards, including board chair Robyn Denholm, Ira Ehrenpreis, who is also a committee chair, former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, Joe Gebbia, Jack Hartung, James Murdoch, and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, according to the company’s October 19 proxy filing. Neither Musk, nor his brother Kimbal Musk, are independent. Denholm, Gebbia, Ehrenpreis, Hartung, Murdoch, and Wilson-Thompson sit on a variety of established committees overseeing audit, compensation, and corporate governance.
SpaceX lists six independent directors, including Ehrenpreis, who is also the chair of the company’s compensation and nominating committee. Randy Glein, Donald Harrison, Steve Jurvetson, Luke Nosek, and Roelef Boutha are also considered independent directors. Antonio Garcias, Musk, and SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell are also on the board, but not considered independent.
Garcias, who once sat on Tesla’s board, founded and leads Valor Equity Partners, which has a 3.4% stake in SpaceX. Garcias’ firm also financed SpaceX’s AI hardware purchases through leaseback arrangements. Musk said he supports the idea of the merger, but cautioned that it is not a guaranteed outcome.
The SpaceX IPO cemented Musk’s grip on the company — he has more than 50% voting power — which would make it easier to garner support for a merger from SpaceX shareholders. It is a much bigger hurdle over at Tesla, where the company would need a 50% vote from all shareholders, not just those who vote, Musk noted.
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