Tesla Chair Thinks 'World Needs More' Of Elon Musk, Talks Progress In Tesla

Robyn Denholm, an Aussie who back in 2017 was COO of Australia's largest telecoms company (Telstra Corporation Ltd), had nothing but positive things to sya about her working relationship with the mercurial Elon Musk since being elected Tesla Inc. chairman in November 2018.

Denholm's introduction to the chairmanship wasn't all roses, however. Skeptics back in November said Denholm, who was a member of the Tesla board before ascending the chairmanship, questioned her competency.

They also noted that Denholm only became chairman in the weirdest of circumstances. Her ascension followed Musk bowing to a demand by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) he surrender the chairmanship for three years. This deal was part of a settlement over fraud allegations stemming from a Musk tweet in August claiming he had made a deal to take Tesla private. There was no such deal and Musk's tweet violated SEC rules.

Denholm has apparently brushed off these brickbats over the past year and in an interview with Fortune said she loves her job at Tesla.

“It’s a joy to be working in that environment,” said Denholm at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. “There are very few people in the world like Elon, and the world needs more of them."

Denholm revealed she has worked with a number of founders during her career. She noted "normalcy" is not something that can be expected from innovators like Musk.

“In this world you can’t be a disruptor part of the time. You can either be a disruptor and innovator as an individual or not," she pointed out. "I don’t expect normalcy in that environment whether it’s Elon or one of the other innovators I’ve worked with.”

Unfortunately, Denholm didn't speak all that much about her job as chairman. She did, however, gush the joys the job gives her.

“You can see the progress. Nobody, 15 years ago, was thinking about electric vehicles or sustainable energy with batteries. Today, the fact that the rest of the industry is moving that way is phenomenal. That would not have happened without Elon.”