
James Murdoch in line to replace Musk as Tesla chairman - jumelles
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-chairman/james-murdoch-in-line-to-replace-musk-as-tesla-chairman-ft-idUSKCN1MK2DY
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elektor
From the article: The son of Fox mogul Rupert Murdoch, he joined Tesla’s board
in July 2017 after years of work with media companies. He has no experience in
manufacturing and has never led a company that makes cars or electric
vehicles.

What exactly does this guy bring to the table for Tesla? Money? Connections?

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tyingq
I assume "will do whatever Elon says" was the top requirement.

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sofaofthedamned
To be fair he's used to doing that from his father.

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ridicter
Sorry, we live in a world where News Corp has been at the epicenter of
cultivating "Merchants of Doubt"[1] when it comes to anthropogenic climate
change. Anyone tied up in that universe deserves skepticism if not outright
rejection for the unbelievable damage they have wielded on society's ability
to address climate change. The cost to society is enormous, and their
grandchildren and grandchildren's children will pay.

Even if James Murdoch is entirely amoral and more of an abacus-bean-shifter
(i.e., money guy), we must recognize that the reason why an electric car
company like Tesla even exists is because of headstrong founders and employees
who demanded a sustainable form of transport that was not just excellent among
electric cars, but one of the greatest cars.

In a way, money guys getting into Tesla is validation of the mainstream
viability of sustainable transport, but we are still in a fragile state where
all kinds of forces are aligning themselves against Tesla. We still need
people ideologically committed to a rapid sustainable transition.

[1][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchants_of_Doubt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchants_of_Doubt)

~~~
adwhit
Are electric cars genuinely seen as part of the solution to climate change?
Surely there is no place for cars in our utopian green future, they are
terribly inefficient means of transportation and completely anti-social and
anti-urban. The future is in advanced metro systems, high speed rail, cycling
etc. In this future, cars would become decided niche.

I had never thought of Tesla being one of the 'good guys', especially with
Musk's backward - even reactionary - views on public transport.[1] It hadn't
occurred to me that this might not be mainstream thought.

[https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-awkward-dislike-
mass-t...](https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-awkward-dislike-mass-
transit/)

~~~
corndoge
There is no getting rid of cars for the foreseeable future, making them
electric is the obvious next step for reducing their environmental impact

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bambax
If we can't get rid of cars I'm really not sure there is a future.

~~~
r00fus
Seems a bit hyperbolic. Even if mass transit was ascendant/dominant, you'd
still have "last mile" issues where only a car would suffice.

Wishing for cars to go away is as pie-in-the-sky as wishing POTS or Email
would disappear. Simply not going to happen - it's too ubiquitous.

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jimnotgym
Oh I see how this works. Pay the boy some big bucks and the bad news goes
away?

It's the same shit-show in the UK. The same 20 Chairmen who know how to
grease-the-wheels cycle around the big co's, milking fat-cat pay for 4 days a
month.

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jumelles
More coverage from The Guardian:
[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/oct/10/james-
mur...](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/oct/10/james-murdoch-elon-
musk-replacement-tesla-chair)

This doesn't seem to be set in stone; rather, Murdoch is the lead candidate.
There has to be a replacement for Musk by mid-November.

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hardwaresofton
Whoever does handles PR/brand image for Tesla must have stomach ulcers at this
point. The amount of ire (whether potential or real) drawn in the last ~1 year
is insane:

\- Elon makes false accusations

\- Elon says dumb thing about going private

\- Elon smokes weed on a podcast (this is a +/don't care for me but I imagine
not for Tesla's entire audience)

\- Elon lets slip that the Saudis are where the money might have come from

\- James Murdoch ( _that_ Murdoch, which generally people don't know or hate)
might replace Musk on the board of Tesla

\- Near constant questioning of company finances and viability

Before this year, Tesla was basically an awesome, expensive, trendy, and
progressive car company that by and large people (those who can afford one,
those who build them, those who love the planet, those who like high
performance cars) loved --

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rcMgD2BwE72F
1\. You seem to confuse false and unsubstantiated 4\. "lets slip that the
Saudis are where the money might have come from" That's honest. Perhaps the
problem is that the Saudi might take a share? If so, why is that a problem
other than Western capitalists chose not to finance such operation instead? If
the Saudi are OK to pay the best price to lead the transition to EV, why
refuse? If the problem is with the communication of the info, then why do we
prefer to be kept in the dark and not know how sausage is made? 5\. Elon said
that it is incorrect (cf direct reply to FT). I'm curious: who would you
recommend? The guy is a clear supported of the transition to sustainable
energy, while being part of a family known to lead the fight against it. He's
probably well armed for the job, then. 6\. Near constant questioning of
company finances and viability: Most is just FUD from short-sellers, which the
media repeat because its sensationalism makes people click.

We'll know soon enough with Q3's results. In the meantime, Model 3 are selling
like hot cakes.

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JoshCole
Found a primary source on Tesla board about news of this type. 20% stake
holder, therefore has huge influence on decision.

[https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1050164164805545984](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1050164164805545984)

Tesla and Elon Musk propaganda campaigns are so successful on Hacker News that
I'm getting close to just being done with the site entirely.

~~~
JoshCole
Feel free to go read your precious article again by the way. It has been
edited to reflect the fact that actual people with strong control over this
decision have said that it is not as the article originally implied.

Hacker News? Every correction had zero upvotes. But now its the next day. This
story is no longer on the front page. Anchoring effects are taking hold. Will
Hacker News even ever know there was a correction to the article?

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Twirrim
Wonder how long until Fox News does a 180 on global warming and starts talking
about the importance of electric vehicles?

~~~
trhway
or Tesla getting an ICE?

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creaghpatr
or ICE getting a fleet of Tesla

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diogenescynic
Nothing could make me want this company to fail more than knowing the
Murdoch’s are involved.

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JoshCole
The story is not correct.

~~~
JoshCole
A 20% stake holder and board member, who unlike the quoted article is not
anonymous, has publicly refuted the misinformation currently being treated as
true on Hacker News with regard to claims about James Murdoch.

[https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1050164164805545984](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1050164164805545984)

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tomiplaz
Elon has tweeted that "this is incorrect".

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bitL
Nepotism is going to save Tesla! Right?

If I were an independent investor, I'd be pulling my money out after this
news.

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durkie
How is this nepotism?

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threeseed
James Murdoch is good friends of Elon Musk.

So it is technically nepotism.

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pulisse
Their friendship would make it cronyism, not nepotism.

~~~
threeseed
Nepotism:

"the practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives or
friends, especially by giving them jobs."

[https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/nepotism](https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/nepotism)

