Ross Gerber, a vocal Tesla shareholder, said he will pursue a board seat at the electric-vehicle maker, with the goal of reining-in chief executive Elon Musk.
Mr Gerber, who is co-founder and chief executive of investment firm Gerber Kawasaki, confirmed his intentions during a Twitter Spaces audio conference hosted by Bloomberg on Friday. He said he will formally announce his plans next week.
“I think it is crucially important to take criticism and this is something that I have realised over the years with Elon, you know, he’s very thin skinned,” Mr Gerber said. “I’ve kind of had enough.”
Mr Musk and representatives for Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr Gerber did not say how he intended to win the board seat. He said he had close relationships with some of Tesla’s biggest institutional investors, including Ark Investment Management (0.15 per cent) and Baillie Gifford and Company (0.85 per cent), but did not say if they supported his board run.
Mr Gerber’s firm held around 440,000 Tesla shares, or 0.01 per cent of the company, as of December 31, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
In a message to Bloomberg News, Mr Gerber said he had a pledge from Leo KoGuan, who is one of the largest individual investors in Tesla.
Mr KoGuan has criticised Musk’s management of Tesla and has said the “board is missing in action.”
Ark Investment Management and Baillie Gifford and Company did not respond to requests for comment. Mr KoGuan could not be reached for comment.
Mr Gerber, who is based in Santa Monica, California, and who also holds Tesla stock as an individual or retail investor, said he is working with thousands of Tesla shareholders overall and is also talking to owners of Tesla vehicles to get a sense of how Mr Musk is regarded.
“Tesla needs to build its image around Tesla, and not just around Elon,” he said on the Spaces call, adding: “I think it’s time for Tesla to grow up.”
He said he plans to be a “friendly activist” on the board and was also co-ordinating with other retail and institutional investors.
During the call, Mr Gerber outlined a few plans he had for Austin, Texas-based Tesla if elected to the board. Nearly all had to do with Mr Musk.
He said he would want to address what he perceived as a conflict of interest for Mr Musk as chief executive at other companies, particularly Twitter, and particularly raised concerns about his compensation and time spent at Tesla versus competing duties as Twitter’s chief executive. Mr Gerber said he would also want to work on a succession plan.
He also said he would push for greater clarity on insider stock sales to avoid large tranches of stock being sold in the open market without shareholders understanding why.
The biography for Mr Gerber on his firm’s website does not list any other board positions on publicly traded companies.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS: 2018 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING - EUROPE
Albania 0 Italy 1
Finland 2 Turkey 2
Macedonia 4 Liechtenstein
Iceland 2 Kosovo 0
Israel 0 Spain 1
Moldova 0 Austria 1
Serbia 1 Georgia 0
Ukraine 0 Croatia 2
Wales 0 Ireland 1
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Cofe
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 80-100
Amount raised: $13m
Investors: KISP ventures, Cedar Mundi, Towell Holding International, Takamul Capital, Dividend Gate Capital, Nizar AlNusif Sons Holding, Arab Investment Company and Al Imtiaz Investment Group
STAGE 4 RESULTS
1 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 4:51:51
2 David Dekker (NED) Team Jumbo-Visma
3 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal
4 Elia Viviani (ITA) Cofidis
5 Matteo Moschetti (ITA) Trek-Segafredo
General Classification
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 12:50:21
2 Adam Yates (GBR) Teamn Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:43
3 Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:03
4 Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:43
5 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
Roger Federer's 2018 record
Australian Open Champion
Rotterdam Champion
Indian Wells Runner-up
Miami Second round
Stuttgart Champion
Halle Runner-up
Wimbledon Quarter-finals
Cincinnati Runner-up
US Open Fourth round
Shanghai Semi-finals
Basel Champion
Paris Masters Semi-finals
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm
Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh130,000
On sale: now
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
Zombieland: Double Tap
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone
Four out of five stars
