Tesla stock (TSLA) closed higher on Friday, capping another strong week for the EV maker. The company’s fourth straight week of gains has seen it recoup a large chunk of losses from lows reached in April.
Tesla stock is now down only 13.7% for the year, after plunging over 40% at one point. Even CEO Elon Musk is celebrating, posted on his X account about the company’s recent share moves.
Driving the news Friday was Tesla’s addition of Chipotle president Jack Hartung to its board of directors. Hartung will be the ninth member of Tesla’s board and will join the company on June 1.
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Hartung will retire from his role at Chipotle (CMG) on the same day and transition to a senior adviser role at the Mexican fast-casual chain. Hartung also serves on the boards of Portillo’s (PTLO), the Honest Company (HNST), and ZocDoc (ZOCD.PVT).
Tesla said Hartung will also join the board’s audit committee.
Tesla’s board has been under fire recently, with criticism over its independence, compensation, and dealings with CEO Elon Musk.
This week, the Financial Times reported Tesla’s board had formed a special committee to explore a new pay package for Musk, with stock options potentially on the table. The committee will explore “alternative ways” to compensate Musk for past work should Tesla fail to reinstate Musk’s prior 2018 pay package, which is on appeal with the Delaware Supreme Court.
The bruising battle over Musk’s pay led to several large shareholders complaining about the exorbitant amount Musk would be paid — $56 billion — and Musk’s threat that he would take projects like AI away from Tesla unless he received more stock options.
Chair Robyn Denholm refuted a Wall Street Journal report that the board was looking for replacements for Musk and had told Musk to return to Tesla in order to reassure investors.
Denholm, who has sold a whopping $538 million in Tesla stock since she joined the board in 2014, has been questioned by investors about her own compensation. The board also settled a lawsuit brought by shareholders and had to pay back millions in compensation.
Read more about Tesla’s stock moves and today’s market action.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
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