Robyn Denholm replaces Elon Musk as head of Tesla's board

After Elon Musk was forced to step down the electric car company Tesla has chosen a new leader for its board of directors.

The company said late Wednesday that Musk will be succeeded by Robyn Denholm, the chief financial officer of Australian telecommunications company Telstra.

Denholm, who is already a member of Tesla's (TLSA) board, will begin working at the company full time after her six-month notice period with Telstra is over.

"To ensure a smooth transition during the remainder of Robyn's time at Telstra, Elon will be a resource to Robyn and provide any support that she requests in her role as chair," Tesla said in a statement.

Musk was forced to step down as chairman of Tesla and pay a $20 million fine in a deal to settle charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year.

The SEC filed suit against Musk in September claiming his August 7 comments on Twitter of having “funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 a share constituted securities fraud since that statement was untrue and he knew it, or should have.

The move comes ahead of a deadline — apparently next week — for Musk to relinquish the chairman role he’s held since 2004. While he's allowed to retain a board seat, the Palo Alto, California-based company must also add two new independent board members by about year-end to reduce what appears to have been a high degree of compliance with the charismatic executive’s wishes.

The selection of Denholm, who joined Tesla's board in 2014, indicates a preference for an independent executive who's also highly familiar with the company's expanding auto and energy businesses. In accepting the job, she'll leave her position as CFO and head of strategy for Australia’s Telstra Corp. to focus full time on Tesla, the electric-car company said in a statement.

“I believe in this company, I believe in its mission and I look forward to helping Elon and the Tesla team achieve sustainable profitability and drive long-term shareholder value,” Robyn said in a blog post.

“Robyn has extensive experience in both the tech and auto industries, and she has made significant contributions as a Tesla Board member over the past four years in helping us become a profitable company,” Musk said in the statement. “I look forward to working even more closely with Robyn as we continue accelerating the advent of sustainable energy.”