Tesla appoints Rupert Murdoch's son as a board director

Shake up at baord level for the US Carmaker as it appoints new directors, including James Murdoch

Marred by the phone-hacking scandal, James Murdoch is set for a position on the board for Tesla (Reuters)

Tesla said on Monday that it had appointed two new directors to its board, including Twenty-First Century Fox Chief Executive James Murdoch, increasing its board size to nine.

Linda Johnson Rice, who heads Johnson Publishing, was the other director named to the board.

Earlier this month, the company's investors approved all five of its proposals, including one that shot down a move to make its directors stand for re-election each year.

Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds had urged fellow Tesla shareholders to vote for a proposal aimed at the declassification of the company's board, arguing that "annual accountability can lead to increased company performance."

Tesla, led by Elon Musk, has been betting big on its mass-market Model 3, the first deliveries of which are expected to begin next week.

Tesla shares were slightly down after the bell on Monday.

Reuters