Ross Gerber, a vocal Tesla Inc. shareholder, plans to withdraw a long-shot effort to run for a position on the company’s board, according to a person familiar with the matter.
(Bloomberg) — Ross Gerber, a vocal Tesla Inc. shareholder, plans to withdraw a long-shot effort to run for a position on the company’s board, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Tesla representatives spoke with Gerber in recent days, the person said, asking not to be identified as the discussions were private. The company has agreed to meet with Gerber next week around Tesla’s investor day on March 1 to discuss his concerns about the electric-vehicle maker’s governance, the person said.
Gerber, who is chief executive at wealth manager Gerber Kawasaki, revealed his intentions earlier this month, billing them as an effort to rein in Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk. Among Gerber’s concerns was the amount of time Musk was spending at Twitter Inc., the social-media platform he owns, as well as at SpaceX, where Musk is also CEO, rather than at Tesla.
His concerns also included a lack of succession planning and examining compensation agreements. Tesla’s representatives will give evidence they’re able to solve some of those issues and demonstrate Musk is still engaged, the person said.
After Bloomberg News’ report on Friday, Gerber confirmed his withdrawal in a post on Twitter. “As a friendly activist, I feel that shareholders have been heard,” he said. “Looking forward to what Tesla has to show us next week!”
Tesla representatives and Musk did not respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Gerber did not respond to questions about his meetings with Tesla.
The wealth manager’s firm owned about 440,000 Tesla shares, or 0.01% of the company, as of Dec. 31, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Gerber also holds some of his own shares privately, he previously told Bloomberg.
He had said Leo KoGuan, one of the largest individual investors in Tesla, had pledged support for his board run, and that he was coordinating with other institutional investors.
(Updates with Gerber comments in fifth paragraph)
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