Investor's Corner
Tesla names Robyn Denholm as new Chair of the Board, replacing Elon Musk
Effective immediately, finance veteran and longtime board member Robyn Denholm will be the Chair of Tesla’s Board of Directors, replacing outgoing Chairman Elon Musk. The appointment, which was announced late Wednesday, was posted on the company’s official blog.
Robyn Denholm has been a member of Tesla’s Board since 2014, a time when the electric car maker was still producing just one vehicle, the Model S. As such, Ms. Denholm is no stranger to Tesla’s hyper-driven environment and ambitious goals, being witness to the growing pains the company went through with the Model X ramp and the Model 3’s “production hell.” Ms. Denholm was also appointed as the electric car maker’s Audit Committee Chair.
Prior to her appointment as Elon Musk’s replacement, she was serving as the Chief Finance Officer and Head of Strategy at Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications company. Once her six-month notice period with the Australian firm is complete, she will be working as Tesla’s Chair on a full-time basis. As she completes her final months at Telstra, Ms. Denholm will be stepping down from her post as the electric car maker’s Audit Committee Chair as well.
Robyn Denholm will be bringing a considerable amount of financial expertise to Tesla. From July 2013 to February 2016, for example, she served as the Chief Financial & Operations Officer of Juniper Networks. At Juniper, she was responsible for finance, administration and business operations, including planning, real estate, investor relations, internal audit, IT, and manufacturing operations. Under her leadership, Juniper’s revenues more than doubled. She was also a key driver of the company’s 2014 restructuring, which resulted in Juniper Networks reaching record revenue and profitability.
The finance veteran is no stranger to the auto industry as well, having worked for Toyota Motor Corporation Australia in the past. During her time with the Japanese carmaker, she served as Toyota Australia’s National Manager of Finance.
Being with the electric car maker since 2014, Ms. Denholm is heavily invested in Tesla’s long-term success and profitability. A report from the Financial Review published last August noted that as of Tesla’s last annual report, the incoming Board Chair held around 140,000 TSLA shares vesting over time. At the current price of the electric car maker’s stock, these shares would amount to more than $48 million. A statement from Tesla to CNBC further noted that Ms. Denholm would receive 8,000 stock options each year and a cash retainer of $300,000.
“I believe in this company, I believe in its mission, and I look forward to helping Elon, and the Tesla team achieve sustainable profitability and drive long-term shareholder value,” Ms. Denholm said.
For his part, Elon Musk noted that the finance veteran had contributed greatly towards Tesla’s transition into a profitable company. Musk also stated that he is looking forward to working with Tesla’s new Board Chair.
“Robyn has extensive experience in both the tech and auto industries, and she has made significant contributions as a Tesla Board member over the past four years in helping us become a profitable company. I look forward to working even more closely with Robyn as we continue accelerating the advent of sustainable energy,” Musk said.
Robyn Denholm’s appointment as Tesla’s new Board Chair is part of Elon Musk’s settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a lawsuit against the CEO over his now-infamous tweet last August, where he stated that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share and that he had “funding secured.” Under the terms of the settlement, Elon Musk was required to step down as Chairman of Tesla’s Board. Two new independent directors would also have to be appointed. Elon Musk and Tesla Inc. would have to pay a fine of $20 million each as well, which would, in turn, be distributed to harmed investors under a court-approved process.
Tesla turned over a new leaf in the third quarter when it surprised Wall Street by posting $6.8 billion in revenue and beating earnings estimates with a GAAP profit of $312 million. During the earnings call and in a recent appearance at the Recode Decode podcast, Elon Musk stated that Tesla would stay cash-flow positive in the coming quarters. With a Board Chair that has an extensive background in finance, Tesla’s coming quarters would likely be even more profitable.
Tesla’s official blog post on Robyn Denholm’s appointment as new Board Chair could be accessed here.
Elon Musk has firmly denied recent media reports suggesting that SpaceX has reduced its target valuation for an upcoming initial public offering.
The denial came directly from the SpaceX and Tesla frontman on his social media platform X, where he responded with a single word, “False,” to a post from ZeroHedge that cited Bloomberg sources.
This swift rebuttal underscores Musk’s ongoing effort to manage speculation surrounding one of the most anticipated market debuts in recent history.
False
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 29, 2026
According to the disputed reports, SpaceX had lowered its IPO valuation goal to at least $1.8 trillion from previous ambitions exceeding $2 trillion.
The claims emerged amid growing anticipation for the company’s confidential S-1 filing, which positions it for a potential public listing as early as June.
Some had pointed to strong revenue growth, particularly from the Starlink satellite internet service, which contributed heavily to the firm’s 2025 figures of $18.7 billion. Yet challenges persist in other areas, including substantial investments and losses tied to ambitious projects like Starship development and artificial intelligence initiatives, which plan to make life multiplanetary eventually.
Musk’s response highlights a pattern in which he actively counters what he views as inaccurate portrayals of his companies’ trajectories.
SpaceX, already valued privately at extraordinary levels, stands as a cornerstone of Musk’s empire alongside Tesla and xAI. The entrepreneur has long emphasized the transformative potential of reusable rockets and global broadband access, factors that fuel investor enthusiasm despite operational hurdles.
By rejecting the valuation downgrade narrative, Musk signals confidence in SpaceX’s fundamentals and its readiness for public markets on terms favorable to its long-term vision. People have been waiting a very long time to invest in SpaceX, and the valuation, as well as the introductory share price, is not going to need adjusting.
They’ll have plenty of suitors.
This episode reflects broader dynamics in the technology sector, where rumors often swirl around high-profile entities. Musk’s direct engagement with media narratives serves to maintain transparency and control the narrative around his ventures.
As SpaceX prepares for greater scrutiny in public markets, the founder’s denial reinforces optimism about its prospects. Supporters argue that the company’s innovative edge positions it for enduring success, far beyond short-term valuation debates. With the denial now public, attention turns to forthcoming regulatory filings that could provide clearer insights into SpaceX’s strategy and financial health.
The coming weeks promise to reveal more about how SpaceX will transition into a publicly traded powerhouse.
Elon Musk
The Tesla and SpaceX merger everyone is talking about is quietly building
Tesla and SpaceX may be closer to merging than Wall Street or either company is admitting.
Elon Musk has reportedly discussed merging Tesla and SpaceX with people close to him, according to CNBC, which cited sources familiar with the conversation. Tesla employees have long expected such a transaction and the topic is openly discussed internally, according to internal sources. With SpaceX is days away from kicking off its Wall Street roadshow for what could be the largest IPO in market history, this would be the first time the company will have public market currency to execute a stock-for-stock deal with Tesla.
The financial logic for a merger would make sense. A combined SpaceX and Tesla would create a conglomerate spanning rockets, satellites, electric vehicles, AI infrastructure, and energy storage valued at roughly $3.35 trillion to $3.6 trillion based on SpaceX’s IPO target range and Tesla’s current market capitalization. The two companies are already more intertwined than most people realize. SpaceX bought $697 million worth of Tesla Megapack systems for xAI data centers and $131 million worth of Cybertrucks. Tesla invested $2 billion in xAI, which subsequently merged with SpaceX. Past transactions also include Tesla selling solar equipment and parts to SpaceX, and SpaceX helping with Cybertruck materials.
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Musk himself signaled where this was heading in November 2025 when he posted on X, “My companies are, surprisingly in some ways, trending towards convergence.” Tesla and SpaceX announced a joint semiconductor fabrication facility in Austin called Terafab on the Gigafactory Texas campus, covering two advanced chip factories, with one serving Tesla’s AI needs for vehicles and Optimus robots, the other targeting space-based data centers under SpaceX’s infrastructure vision.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives places the probability of a merger at 80% to 90% with a target completion in the first half of 2027. The mechanics of a deal became possible the moment SpaceX filed its S-1. Legal experts said a merger likely would not spark antitrust issues but would raise concerns among shareholders in each company, with questions around which company would be the parent, how a stock swap would take place, and who determines the appropriate price. Musk holds about 20% of Tesla’s equity but controls 85.1% of SpaceX’s voting power through a super-voting share class, meaning he would largely be negotiating the terms with himself.
Not everyone is convinced the timing is imminent. Traders on Kalshi place only 33% odds that a merger will happen before May 2027. The more immediate concern for Tesla shareholders is whether the SpaceX IPO pulls capital and Musk’s attention away from Tesla before any merger consolidates the upside for both.
What is clear is that the structural groundwork is already being laid. The Terafab announcement, the xAI merger, the shared supply chain, the cross-company balance sheet transactions, and now the IPO all point in the same direction. Whether the merger follows in 2027 or later, the two companies are already operating more like divisions of a single entity than independent competitors.
Elon Musk
SpaceX just filed for the IPO everyone was waiting for
SpaceX filed its public S-1, revealing $18.7 billion in revenue and billions in losses.
SpaceX publicly filed its S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20, 2026, making its financial details available to the public for the first time ahead of what could be the largest IPO in history.
An S-1 is the formal document a company must submit to the SEC before going public. It includes audited financials, risk factors, business descriptions, and how the company plans to use the money it raises. Companies are required to file one before selling shares to the public, and it must be published at least 15 days before the investor roadshow begins. SpaceX had already submitted a confidential draft to the SEC in April, which allowed regulators to review the filing privately before it went public.
The S-1 reveals that SpaceX generated $18.7 billion in consolidated revenue in 2025, driven largely by its Starlink satellite internet division, which posted $11.4 billion in revenue, growing nearly 50% year over year. Despite that growth, the company lost about $4.9 billion in 2025 and has burned through more than $37 billion since its founding.
SpaceX just forced Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to team up for the first time in history
A significant portion of those losses trace back to xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, which was recently merged into SpaceX. SpaceX directed roughly 60% of its capital spending in 2025 to its AI division, totaling around $20 billion, yet that division lost billions and grew revenue by only about 22%.
SpaceX plans to list its Class A common stock on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America leading the offering. The dual-class share structure means going public will not meaningfully reduce Musk’s control, as Class B shares he holds carry 10 votes per share compared to one vote for public Class A shares.
The company is targeting a raise of around $75 billion at a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion, which would make it the largest IPO ever. The investor roadshow is reportedly planned for June 5.
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