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Tesla has named Elon Musk's replacement as chair of its board — here's the full list of the company's directors (TSLA)

The board of directors is made up of seven men and two women who have come under fire in recent months due to an alleged lack of independence.

Newly appointed Tesla chairwoman Robyn Denholm
  • Tesla's
  • Elon Musk
  • SEC

Robyn Denholm, an Australian telecoms executive, has been appointed chair of Tesla's board of directors following the company's $20 million settlement with the US' top stock market regulator.

Per its agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla had 45 days to replace CEO Elon Musk as chair, a deadline it met by about a week. It also has 90 days from the September 29 settlement — December 28 — to add two more independent directors,

Tesla's billionaire CEO isn't the only the only Tesla director to come under fire recently. The board has been criticized for a lack of relevant automotive experience, with the exception of Denholm, who spent seven years at Toyota in Australia.

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Kimball Musk, Elon Musk's brother, and James Murdoch, son of British media mogul Rupert Murdoch, have also been called unfit for their posts by major proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis. Other groups, like pension representatives CtW Investment Group and the elected officials from multiple states have called for changes above and beyond required in the SEC settlement.

(Read more: As we wait for news on what other two independent directors will be added to the board, Business Insider has rounded up the company' eight directors into one succinct list. Here's a look at the group guiding Tesla and advocating for its shareholders:

Robyn M. Denholm

Robyn Denholm, one of the few Tesla directors with automotive experience, has been a director since August 2014 and was appointed to chair the board on November 7.

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After being educated in Australia and spending the first seven years of her career at Toyota in the country, Denholm spent 11 years as a Senior Vice President at Sun Microsystems, the subsidiary of Oracle, according to Tesla's website.

The 54-year-old currently serves as CFO and head of strategy for Telstra, Australia's largest telecom provider, where she was previously head of operations, according to Bloomberg. The company said she will leave her post at Telstra after a six-month notice period.

Denholm will also temporarily step down as chair of Tesla's audit committee until her time at Telstra is complete. She also on the board's compensation, and nominating and corporate governance committees.

As part of her incentive package, Denholm will receive an annual cash retainer of $300,000 after leaving Telstra along with 8,000 stock options annually, the company said.

Elon Musk

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Elon Musk served as the chairman of Tesla's board of directors from April 2004 — when he led Tesla Motors' (as it was then called) first round of $7.5 million in financing he made from selling PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion two years prior — until November 8 when he was replaced by Robyn Denholm.

At the time of his appointment, the then 32-year-old already deep into work on his other company SpaceX. He would become CEO of Tesla three years later, in August 2007, taking over from temporary CEO Michael Marks.

Musk is Tesla's largest shareholder, owning just under 20% of the company's outstanding stock. In 2017, he took home $49,920 in salary, according to regulatory filings.

As part of his $20 million settlement with the US' Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk was forced to turn over his role as chairman of Tesla's board to an independent director for at least three years. In 2021, he could theoretically become chairman again, if appointed by the board and approved by shareholders.

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Antonio J. Gracias, Lead Director

Antonio J Gracias, the owner of Tesla's second-ever Roadster vehicle, has served on Tesla's board since September 2010.

The 47-year-old is the founder and CEO of Valor Equity, an investment firm with more than $2 billion in committed capital across at least four funds, according to a recent press release. Valor was also the first institutional investor in Tesla Motors.

When Musk famously tweeted in August that he was "considering taking Tesla private," Gracias was the one to call Musk and tell him to not tweet again. The company's settlement with the SEC includes a provision about "reviewing management's public communications" to maintain compliance.

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According to Tesla's website, Gracias oversees HR, capital raising, deals, investment strategy, and other management operations for the board. He serves on the board's audit, nominating and governance, and compensation committees.

Kimbal Musk

Kimball Musk, brother of CEO Elon Musk, has long been the target of criticism given his family relationship to the company.

Ahead of Tesla's annual meeting in May, CtW Investment Group, which represents union and pension investments in the company, said he Chipotle

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According to Tesla's website, Musk's non-profit organization "

Steve Jurvetson

James Murdoch

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James Murdoch, son of British media mogul Rupert Murdoch, is reportedly a front-runner to replace CEO Elon Musk as chairman of Tesla's board.

The 45-year-old has worked as the CEO of 21st Century Fox since 2015 and most recently oversaw the company's sale of its production assets — excluding Fox News and Fox Business networks — to Walt Disney.

However, Murdoch's ties to the family business have drawn criticism from Tesla investors.

"While adding new directors was a step in the right direction," CtW Investment Group said in May, "the choice of Mr. Murdoch as one of those directors does not appear well considered, given his troubled history as an executive and director, the disturbing parallels between nepotistic practices at Fox and Tesla, and his lack of relevant industry experience."

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In October, the Financial Times reported Murdoch was a front-runner to replace Musk as chairman. It's not clear if those rumors were untrue or if the company's mind changed in the weeks since.

Murdoch also serves on the board of News Corp, the New York Yankees' parent company, the DIA Center for the Arts, and the Ghetto Film School, according to Bloomberg.

Brad W. Buss

Brad Buss has served on Tesla's board of directors since 2009. According to the company's website, Buss previously served as the CFO of SolarCity, the energy company Tesla acquired in 2016, for two years before retiring the same year of the merger.

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Born and educated in Canada, Buss also serves on the boards of Advance Auto Parts and Marvell, a semiconductor manufacturer.

According to regulatory documents, Buss owns about 13,000 shares of Tesla worth $4.56 million at current prices. He serves on Tesla's audit, nominating and governance, and compensation committees.

Ira Ehrenpreis

Ira Ehrenpreis is the founder of DBL Partners, a venture capital firm with abut $540 million in assets under management across two funds, according to CrunchBase. He's served on Tesla's board since May 2007.

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The 49-year-old is also an investor in SpaceX and Planet, and serves on the boards of MapBox and Accelergy, a company that makes low-carbon, synthetic transportation fuels, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Ehrenpreis holds a Doctor of Law degree and MBA from Stanford; he serves on Tesla's compensation, and nominating and governance committees.

Linda Johnson Rice

Linda Johnson Rice is one of Tesla's newest directors, having joined the board in July 2017 at the same time as James Murdoch.

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Rice is currently the chairman of Johnson Publishing, which recently sold the iconic Ebony and Jet magazines from its portfolio just before Rice stepped down from her post a CEO. She's also the CEO of

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