FFC SUPPORTS INVESTOR STATEMENT ADDRESSING GOVERNANCE ISSUES AT TESLA

Friends Fiduciary joined fellow investors on a letter to Tesla’s board chairman, Robyn Denholm, and chair of the board governance committee, Ira Ehrenpreis, requesting that they announce plans to ensure that Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, “dedicates adequate time and attention to the company. . . or a CEO succession plan”. Further, that the board overhaul its composition to address the directors with close ties to the CEO. Since Mr. Musk disclosed his stake in Twitter on April 2022 through April 3, 2023 Tesla lost $582.4 billion in market capitalization.

The investor letter also lays out concerns around poor human capital management at Tesla as well as human rights risks from operations in China and supply chains that include Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. These concerns reflect potential legal and reputational risks the company could face. The letter was featured in a CNBC article.