Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm Dismisses Concerns Over Elon Musk’s Political Moves—Here’s Why It Matters

Elon's political gambits? Just noise, insists Tesla's chair.

Robyn Denholm doubles down on focus—shareholders want execution, not election distractions.

Musk's influence cuts both ways—love the vision, hate the volatility. Markets shrug, then surge. Classic Tesla.

Another day, another CEO diving into politics while the stock does the limbo. Priorities, people.

Tesla’s product, not Elon Musk’s personality, drives demand

“My view is over the long term people buy things that they really love. And Tesla vehicles are things that people really love,” she said, adding that Musk is “front and center” at the company after several months at the White House.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, the moment you get into a Tesla and you drive that car, you know what that experience is like.”

Over the past two years, Musk has become a major political figure, using his wealth and his social media platform to back efforts to elect TRUMP in 2024.

Musk was the largest single contributor to political committees in that campaign. He also used his sway to convince Trump to set up a Department of Government Efficiency and to put him in charge. That relationship later unraveled in a very public split between the two billionaires.

Denholm helped lead talks on Musk’s $1 trillion pay deal

Musk has also briefly slipped behind Oracle founder Larry Ellison on the wealth rankings earlier, as noted by Cryptopolitan this week.

At the same time, the board was discussing Musk’s compensation. Directors last week disclosed an unprecedented $1 trillion offer as part of efforts to reset his pay. Denholm is one of two Tesla directors working directly on the package.

In a proxy filing last week, the board noted Musk’s “high public profile” and the risk that politics could pull him away from running the company. Directors said they sought “assurances that Musk’s involvement with the political sphere WOULD wind down in a timely manner.”

On Friday, Denholm declined to spell out what “political involvement” means for the board and emphasized that Musk, like any citizen, can share his views.

Musk has threatened to start the “America Party” after Trump signed a bill in July to raise the federal debt limit, a step that would be costly and face long odds in a two-party system.

Not everything has gone his way. His April backing of a conservative contender for the Wisconsin Supreme Court backfired as the contest turned into a judgment on Musk himself. Despite roughly $20 million in attack ads linked to Musk and allied groups, the court’s liberal wing now commands the majority.

Musk showed signs of fatigue with politics in May, telling Bloomberg at the Qatar Economic Forum that he would “do a lot less” in the future, a possible setback for Republicans heading into the 2026 midterm elections.

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