Elon Musk To Exit Endeavor’s Board Of Directors

Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk plans to exit the board of directors of Endeavor Group Holdings in June.

The company disclosed the departure Wednesday in an SEC filing, which conveniently landed due to SEC rules just as the company was starting its quarterly conference call with Wall Street analysts. The owner of WME, IMG and the UFC reported a net loss for the fourth quarter, but better-than-expected revenue.

Last Saturday, the company disclosed in the filing, the tech billionaire notified the company of his resignation from the board as of June 30. “The board of directors approved reducing its size from eight to seven members subject to and effective upon the effectiveness of Mr. Musk’s resignation,” the filing added. The decision to exit “was not the result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to its operations, policies or practices.”

A person familiar with Musk’s departure from the board said it came down to his full plate of activities. Running Tesla alone is a tall order, given its $860 billion market value and growth ambitions. Privately held space exploration firm SpaceX, founded in 2002, was reportedly valued at a dizzying $100 billion last year during a funding round.

Musk, who made his initial fortune co-founding PayPal before Tesla’s success made him one of the richest people on the planet, was a significant get for Endeavor ahead of its IPO last April. In March 2021, the company said it had added him to the board, citing his “professional background and experience running a public company, his previously held senior executive-level positions, his service on other public company boards and his experience starting, growing and integrating businesses.”

The remaining seven board members include the company’s CEO, Ariel Emanuel; its executive chairman, Patrick Whitesell; and Egon Durban, Ursula Burns, Jacqueline Reses, Stephen Evans and Fawn Weaver. Durban is chairman of the board.

In the button-down world of corporate boards and high finance, Musk has long been an outlier. As CEO of Tesla since 2009, he has led the electric carmaker to steady market-share gains, aided by his knack for self-promotion. In 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York finalized a settlement related to Musk tweeting about potentially taking Tesla private. The SEC determined that the tweet was a violation of its rules. Musk paid a fine and agreed to step down as Tesla chairman for a time. The settlement did not limit his ability to serve as an officer or board director of a different company.

“We thank Elon Musk for his commitment to Endeavor through our first year as a public company, in which he contributed meaningfully to our long-term strategy and vision for the future of sports and entertainment,” a company spokesperson said in a statement provided to Deadline. “We know he has a lot of demands and little time, and we appreciate the support he provided us.”