Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm sat down with Bloomberg Technology this week for a wide-ranging interview that touched on Elon Musk’s new pay package, the company’s potential investment in Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI, and the board’s stance on everything from the CEO’s role in politics to planning his succession.
Earlier this month, Tesla unveiled an unprecedented new compensation proposal for Musk in its 2025 proxy statement. If approved by shareholders and all milestones are met, the plan could be worth as much as $1 trillion — by far the largest CEO pay package in corporate history. When asked about it, Denholm reiterated her view that Musk is “a generational leader and the right CEO during this transformative period of time,” stressing the board’s alignment with him on execution.
The proxy filing also revealed that Tesla shareholders will vote this fall on whether the company should make a strategic investment in xAI. Denholm used the Bloomberg interview to clarify what she sees as widespread confusion around AI. “AI is not one thing. It is a range of technologies,” she said.
“What Tesla is doing today with AI is quite different to what xAI does. With Optimus, we’re taking real-world application of AI and putting it into physical products. xAI, on the other hand, is working on foundational research and large language models.”
Denholm also addressed concerns around Musk’s political activity, saying that he has “completed” his political service and what he does in his personal life “is up to him.” From the board’s perspective, she added, the focus remains firmly on “measuring him on results and what he does as the CEO of Tesla.”
On security, Denholm noted that ensuring Musk’s safety has long been a top priority for the board, calling it “something we take very seriously; he [Musk] takes it very seriously as well.” This comes after Tesla shareholders have repeatedly called for the board to increase spending on Musk’s security.
Check out the full Bloomberg Technology interview with Robyn Denholm below:
