Item 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
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Item 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Background and Qualifications
The names of the members of Tesla’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), their respective ages, their positions with Tesla and other biographical information as of April 30, 2026, are set forth below. Except for Messrs. Elon Musk and Kimbal Musk, who are brothers, there are no other family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.
| Nominating | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| and | ||||||||||||||||
| Corporate | Disclosure | Term | ||||||||||||||
| Chair of the | Audit | Compensation | Governance | Controls | of | |||||||||||
| Name | Age | Board | Committee | Committee | Committee | Committee | Office | |||||||||
| Elon Musk | 54 | Expires in 2026 | ||||||||||||||
| Robyn Denholm | 62 | X | X | X | X | X | Expires in 2026 | |||||||||
| Ira Ehrenpreis | 57 | X | X | Expires in 2028 | ||||||||||||
| Joe Gebbia | 44 | X | Expires in 2028 | |||||||||||||
| Jack Hartung | 68 | X | Expires in 2027 | |||||||||||||
| James Murdoch | 53 | X | X | X | Expires in 2027 | |||||||||||
| Kimbal Musk | 53 | Expires in 2027 | ||||||||||||||
| JB Straubel | 50 | Expires in 2026 | ||||||||||||||
| Kathleen Wilson-Thompson | 68 | X | X | X | Expires in 2028 |
Elon Musk is the Technoking of Tesla and has served as our Chief Executive Officer since October 2008 and as a member of the Board since April 2004. Mr. Musk has also served as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Technical Officer and Chairman of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, a company which develops and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft (“SpaceX”), since May 2002 and served as Chairman of the Board of SolarCity Corporation, a solar installation company (“SolarCity”), from July 2006 until its acquisition by us in November 2016. He has served as Chief Technology Officer and on the Board of X Corp., a social media company (“X”), since October 2022, and has served as the Chief Executive Officer and on the Board of X.AI Corp., an artificial intelligence company (“xAI”), since March 2023, in each case through the March 2025 merger of X and xAI. Following the March 2025 merger of X and xAI, he served as the President, Treasurer and Chief Executive Officer and on the board of directors of X.AI Holdings Corp. (“xAI Holdings”), which later became a subsidiary of SpaceX in February 2026. Mr. Musk is also a founder of The Boring Company (“TBC”), an infrastructure company, and Neuralink Corp., a company focused on developing brain-machine interfaces, where he serves as the Chief Executive Officer. Prior to SpaceX, Mr. Musk co-founded PayPal, an electronic payment system, which was acquired by eBay in October 2002, and Zip2 Corporation, a provider of Internet enterprise software and services, which was acquired by Compaq in March 1999. Mr. Musk also served on the board of directors of Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. from April 2021 to June 2022. Mr. Musk holds a B.A. in Physics from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Business from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
As our Chief Executive Officer, one of our founders and our largest shareholder, Mr. Musk brings historical knowledge, operational and technical expertise and continuity to the Board. Mr. Musk guided Tesla from an early-stage startup, through its IPO in 2010, to transformative growth into one of the most valuable companies in the world. Mr. Musk’s leadership and unique vision to build the world’s next generation of sustainable and accessible innovation has played a key role in our mission to build a world of amazing abundance.
Robyn Denholm has been a member of the Board since August 2014 and its Chair since November 2018. In January 2021, Ms. Denholm joined Blackbird Ventures (“Blackbird”), a venture capital firm, as an Operating Partner, where she works with the founders of later-stage technology companies. In 2024, she transitioned to a role on Blackbird’s board of directors. Ms. Denholm actively champions the Australian technology sector and was the Inaugural Chair of the Technology Council of Australia, and a board member until February 2026. She also sits on the board of three Australian-founded private technology companies. In 2025, Ms. Denholm chaired the Australian government’s Strategic Examination of Research and Development, which published the Ambitious Australia report in 2026. She also founded Wollemi Capital Group in 2021, with a mission to invest in ventures that deliver a positive impact. The firm’s investment portfolio spans environmental, venture capital and community-focused investments, and includes majority ownership in two professional basketball teams, the Sydney Kings and Sydney Flames, and majority ownership of the Women’s National Basketball League in Australia. From January 2017 through June 2019, Ms. Denholm was with Telstra Corporation Limited, a telecommunications company (“Telstra”), where she served as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Strategy from October 2018 through June 2019, and Chief Operations Officer from January 2017 to October 2018. Prior to Telstra, from August 2007 to July 2016, Ms. Denholm was with Juniper Networks, Inc., a manufacturer of networking equipment, serving in executive roles including Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer. Prior to joining Juniper Networks, Ms. Denholm served in various executive roles at Sun Microsystems, Inc. from January 1996 to August 2007. Ms. Denholm also served at Toyota Motor Corporation Australia for seven years and at Arthur Andersen & Company for five years in various finance assignments. Ms. Denholm previously served as a director of ABB Ltd. Ms. Denholm is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia/New Zealand, a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Sydney, and a Master’s degree in Commerce and a Doctor of Business Administration (honoris causa) from the University of New South Wales.
Ms. Denholm brings nearly 30 years of executive leadership experience at both NYSE- and Nasdaq-listed companies, including significant risk management, financial and accounting expertise, as well as technology leadership experience. Ms. Denholm has extensive knowledge of both the automotive and technology industries, including serving as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer of two technology companies.
Ira Ehrenpreis has been a member of the Board since May 2007. Mr. Ehrenpreis has been a venture capitalist since 1996. He is a founder and managing member of DBL Partners, a leading impact investing venture capital firm formed in 2015. Previously, he led the Energy Innovation practice at Technology Partners. Mr. Ehrenpreis has served on the board and Executive Committee, including as Annual Meeting Chairman, of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Mr. Ehrenpreis currently serves as the Chairman of the VCNetwork, the largest and most active California venture capital organization, and as the President of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists (WAVC), the oldest venture capital organization in California. Mr. Ehrenpreis is also deeply involved in the energy technology sector. He currently serves on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Advisory Council, the University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute Advisory Board, and the Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy Advisory Council, and has served on the advisory boards of many industry groups, including the American Council on Renewable Energy, the Cleantech Venture Network (Past Chairman of Advisory Board) and the Stanford Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP). He was also Chairman of the Clean-Tech Investor Summit for nine years. Mr. Ehrenpreis served for years as the Chairman of the Silicon Valley Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum (SVIEF) and on the Advisory Board of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FWE). Mr. Ehrenpreis is an inductee of the International Green Industry Hall of Fame. In 2018, the National Venture Capital Association awarded Mr. Ehrenpreis with the industry’s “Outstanding Service Award” for career contributions to the venture capital industry. In 2023, the Japan Society of Northern California honored Mr. Ehrenpreis with its 2023 Visionary Award for his “Pioneering Leadership in Impact Investing and the Global Sustainability Community.” Mr. Ehrenpreis was awarded the 2018 NACD Directorship 100 for his influential leadership in the boardroom and corporate governance community. Mr. Ehrenpreis holds a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles and a J.D. and M.B.A. from Stanford University.
Mr. Ehrenpreis is an acknowledged leader in the energy, technology, impact and venture capital industries, where he serves on several industry boards, and brings valuable insights in corporate governance, strategic growth and shareholder values. Mr. Ehrenpreis’ tenure on the Board also provides the Company with stability and experience as it navigates through different challenges.
Joe Gebbia has been a member of the Board since September 2022. Mr. Gebbia co-founded Airbnb, Inc. in 2008 and has served on Airbnb’s board of directors since 2009. In 2022, Mr. Gebbia launched Samara, which produces fully customized, factory-made homes designed to create rental income, house family, support work from home, or bundled together, to form new types of housing communities. In 2025, Mr. Gebbia was appointed the Chief Design Officer of the National Design Studio. Mr. Gebbia received dual degrees in Graphic Design and Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design, where he currently serves on the institution’s Board of Trustees. Mr. Gebbia is the Chairman of Airbnb.org, and also serves on the Olympic Refuge Foundation and leadership councils for UNHCR, Tent.org and Malala Fund. Mr. Gebbia is a sought-after speaker on design and entrepreneurship, and has been named in BusinessWeek’s Top 20 Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs, Inc. Magazine’s Thirty-under-Thirty, Fortune’s Forty-under-Forty, and one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People.
Mr. Gebbia has valuable experience derived from founding and leading a global public company. The Board benefits from his entrepreneurial background, as well as his experience in design, innovation, brand development and management of complex regulatory environments.
Jack Hartung has been a member of the Board since June 2025. Mr. Hartung most recently served as a senior advisor at Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (“Chipotle”) until his retirement in March 2026, and was the President and Chief Strategy Officer of Chipotle from October 2024 to May 2025. Mr. Hartung joined Chipotle in 2002 and held various roles, including Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, where he was responsible for all finance and accounting functions as well as supply chain, strategy, and safety and asset protection. Prior to Chipotle, he spent 18 years at McDonald’s Corp., where he held a variety of management positions, most recently as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of its Partner Brands Group. Mr. Hartung has served on the boards of directors of The Honest Company, since May 2022, and Portillo’s Inc. since January 2025. He has also served on the Board of ZocDoc, Inc. since January 2022. Mr. Hartung has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Economics and an MBA from Illinois State University and is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant (both not currently practicing).
Mr. Hartung brings a proven track record of executive leadership, with experience overseeing financial and reporting functions at multiple public companies. Mr. Hartung also provides valuable experience in the areas of business transformation and customer engagement.
James Murdoch has been a member of the Board since July 2017. Mr. Murdoch has been the Chief Executive Officer of Lupa Systems, a private holding company that he founded, since March 2019. Previously, Mr. Murdoch held a number of leadership roles at Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., a media company (“21CF”), over two decades, including its Chief Executive Officer from 2015 to March 2019, its Co-Chief Operating Officer from 2014 to 2015, its Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, International from 2011 to 2014 and its Chairman and Chief Executive, Europe and Asia from 2007 to 2011. Previously, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of Sky plc from 2003 to 2007, and as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of STAR Group Limited, a subsidiary of 21CF, from 2000 to 2003. Mr. Murdoch formerly served on the board of News Corporation from 2013 to 2020. In addition, he has served on the boards of 21CF, Sky plc, GlaxoSmithKline plc and Sotheby’s.
Mr. Murdoch brings to the Board his decades of executive and board experience across numerous companies. The Board benefits from his extensive knowledge of international markets and strategies and experience with the adoption of new technologies.
Kimbal Musk has been a member of the Board since April 2004. Mr. Kimbal Musk is co-founder and Executive Chairman of The Kitchen Restaurant Group, a growing family of businesses with the goal of providing all Americans with access to real food that was founded in 2004. From 2010 to 2025, Mr. Kimbal Musk was the Executive Director of Big Green (formerly The Kitchen Community), a non-profit organization that creates learning gardens in schools across the United States. Mr. Kimbal Musk also co-founded Square Roots, an urban farming company growing fresh, local greens in climate-controlled, AI-equipped shipping containers, in 2016, and serves as its Chairman. In 2022, Mr. Kimbal Musk founded Nova Sky Stories, with a mission to empower producers and artists to bring art to the skies with drone light shows, and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. Previously, Mr. Kimbal Musk was a co-founder of Zip2 Corporation, a provider of Internet enterprise software and services, which was acquired by Compaq in March 1999. In 2006, Mr. Kimbal Musk became CEO of OneRiot, a real-time search engine that was acquired by Walmart in 2011. In addition, Mr. Kimbal Musk has served on the boards of SpaceX and Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Mr. Kimbal Musk holds a B. Comm. in business from Queen’s University and is a graduate of The French Culinary Institute in New York City.
Mr. Kimbal Musk has extensive senior leadership business experience in the technology, retail and consumer markets, and a robust understanding of mission-driven ventures. Mr. Kimbal Musk also provides valuable expertise based on his experience on the Board and is able to apply his unique understanding of the business to the strategy and execution of the Company.
JB Straubel has been a member of the Board since May 2023. Mr. Straubel is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Redwood Materials Inc., a Nevada-based company (“Redwood”) working to drive down the costs and environmental footprint of lithium-ion batteries by offering large-scale sources of domestic anode and cathode materials produced from recycled batteries. Mr. Straubel also co-founded and served as the Chief Technology Officer of Tesla from May 2005 to July 2019. Mr. Straubel previously served on the board of SolarCity and as a member of its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee from August 2006 until its acquisition by Tesla in November 2016. Mr. Straubel has served on the board of directors of QuantumScape since November 2020. Mr. Straubel holds a B.S. in Energy Systems Engineering and a M.S. in Engineering, with an emphasis on energy conversion, from Stanford University.
As a co-founder and one of the key members of Tesla’s leadership team for over a decade, Mr. Straubel brings extensive operational experience and in-house knowledge of Tesla’s technology, research and development and business management. Mr. Straubel also provides valuable expertise in the areas of cleantech and batteries.
Kathleen Wilson-Thompson has been a member of the Board since December 2018. Ms. Wilson-Thompson served as Executive Vice President and Global Chief Human Resources Officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., a global pharmacy and wellbeing company, from December 2014 until her retirement in January 2021, and previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer from January 2010 to December 2014. Prior to Walgreens, Ms. Wilson-Thompson held various legal and operational roles at The Kellogg Company, a food manufacturing company, from January 1991 to December 2009, including most recently as its Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources. Ms. Wilson-Thompson has served on the board of directors of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. since May 2021 and McKesson Corporation since January 2022. She has also served on the board of directors of Health Care Service Corporation since October 2024. Ms. Wilson-Thompson holds an A.B. in English Literature from the University of Michigan and a J.D. and L.L.M. (Corporate and Finance Law) from Wayne State University.
Ms. Wilson-Thompson brings extensive executive and board experience at both consumer-focused and industrial companies. In addition, her expertise in managing human resources, employment law and other operations at mature companies with large workforces provides the Board with valuable insight and advice for workforce management and relations as Tesla continues to expand.
Additional Information
On October 16, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment approving the terms of a settlement filed with the court on September 29, 2018, in connection with the actions taken by the SEC relating to Elon Musk’s August 7, 2018 Twitter (now known as X) post that he was considering taking Tesla private. On April 26, 2019, this settlement was amended to clarify certain of its terms, which amendment was subsequently approved by such court. Mr. Musk did not admit to or deny any of the SEC’s allegations, and there is no restriction to Mr. Musk’s ability to serve as an officer or director on the Board.
On April 3, 2026, in Pampena v. Musk, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California entered a partial judgment against Mr. Musk in his personal capacity only in favor of lead plaintiffs on behalf of themselves and a class of investors who sold certain Twitter, Inc. equity securities between May 13 and October 4, 2022. The judgment is based on a jury verdict rendered on March 20, 2026 that found (i) in favor of plaintiffs on claims alleging that Mr. Musk violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder in connection with two statements made by Mr. Musk in May 2022, and (ii) in favor of Mr. Musk on claims challenging a third statement and alleging a “scheme to defraud” under Rules 10b-5(a) and (c). The claims in this case all concern Mr. Musk’s then-pending potential purchase of Twitter, Inc. The partial judgment remains subject to appeal and various post-trial proceedings, including post-judgment motions for judgment as a matter of law and for a new trial, which are scheduled to be filed on May 1, 2026.
Audit Committee
The Board has four standing committees comprised solely of independent directors—the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Disclosure Controls Committee. The Audit Committee, which has been established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58) of the Exchange Act, currently consists of Robyn Denholm, Joe Gebbia, Jack Hartung and James Murdoch, each of whom is “independent” as such term is defined for audit committee members by the listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”). Ms. Denholm is the chair of the Audit Committee. The Board has determined that Ms. Denholm is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in the rules of the SEC.
Executive Officers
The names of Tesla’s executive officers, their ages, their positions with Tesla and other biographical information as of April 30, 2026, are set forth below. Except for Messrs. Elon Musk and Kimbal Musk, who are brothers, there are no other family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.
| Name | Age | Position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elon Musk | 54 | Technoking of Tesla and Chief Executive Officer | ||
| Vaibhav Taneja | 48 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Xiaotong (Tom) Zhu | 46 | Senior Vice President, APAC and Global Vehicle Manufacturing |
Elon Musk. For a brief biography of Mr. Musk, see “Board of Directors—Background and Qualifications” under this Item 10 above.
Vaibhav Taneja has served as our Chief Financial Officer since August 2023. Prior to his appointment as CFO, Mr. Taneja served as Tesla’s Chief Accounting Officer since March 2019, as Corporate Controller from May 2018, and as Assistant Corporate Controller between February 2017 and May 2018. Mr. Taneja served in various finance and accounting roles at SolarCity from March 2016. Mr. Taneja holds a Bachelor’s of Commerce degree from Delhi University and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).
Tom Zhu has served as our Senior Vice President since April 2023, and Senior Vice President, APAC and Global Vehicle Manufacturing since June 2025. Mr. Zhu joined Tesla in April 2014, and served in various operational roles before being appointed as Vice President, Greater China, where he led the construction and operations of Gigafactory Shanghai. Mr. Zhu holds a bachelor’s degree of commerce in information technology from the Auckland University of Technology and an M.B.A. from Duke University.
Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports
Under Section 16 of the Exchange Act, Tesla’s directors, executive officers and any persons holding more than 10% of Tesla’s common stock are required to report initial ownership of Tesla common stock and any subsequent changes in ownership to the SEC. Specific due dates have been established by the SEC, and Tesla is required to disclose in this Amendment any failure to file required ownership reports by these dates. Based solely upon a review of forms filed with the SEC and the written representations of such persons for their 2025 fiscal year transactions, Tesla is aware of no late Section 16(a) filings.
Code of Business Ethics and Corporate Governance Guidelines
The Board sets high standards for Tesla’s workforce, officers and directors. Tesla is committed to establishing an operating framework that exercises appropriate oversight of responsibilities at all levels throughout the Company and managing its affairs in a manner consistent with rigorous principles of business ethics. Accordingly, Tesla has adopted a Code of Business Ethics, which was amended in April 2024, and which is applicable to Tesla and its subsidiaries’ directors, officers and personnel. The Code of Business Ethics sets forth Tesla’s guiding principles, which include thinking before acting, treating everyone with respect, protecting our information and assets and doing business with integrity. Tesla has also adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines, which, in conjunction with our certificate of formation, bylaws and charters of the standing committees of the Board, form the framework for Tesla’s corporate governance. The Code of Business Ethics and the Corporate Governance Guidelines are each available on Tesla’s website at: http://ir.tesla.com/corporate or may be obtained by contacting Corporate Secretary, Tesla, Inc., 1 Tesla Road, Austin, Texas 78725. Tesla will disclose on its website any amendment to the Code of Business Ethics, as well as any waivers of the Code of Business Ethics, that are required to be disclosed by the rules of the SEC or Nasdaq.
Hedging, Short Sales and Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans
Tesla has an insider trading policy that is reasonably designed to promote compliance with insider trading laws, rules and regulations and Nasdaq listing standards. The insider trading policy prohibits all of our directors, officers and employees from, among other things, engaging in short sales, hedging or similar transactions designed to decrease the risks associated with holding Tesla securities. This prohibition encompasses transactions in publicly-traded options, such as puts and calls, and other derivative securities with respect to Tesla securities, but not transactions designed to facilitate portfolio diversification, such as broad-based index options, futures or baskets. It is also the policy of Tesla to comply with all applicable securities laws when transacting in its own securities. A copy of the insider trading policy is filed as Exhibit 19 to the Original Form 10-K.
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