Jack Hartung.
Scott Mlyn | CNBC
Tesla has appointed longtime Chipotle executive Jack Hartung to its board of directors, effective June 1.
As part of the board, Hartung will join Tesla’s audit committee, the electric vehicle company disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
The addition comes as Tesla battles sinking EV sales and eroding profits, and concerns that CEO Elon Musk is focusing too much attention elsewhere, including in his role leading President Donald Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The company’s stock price is down 14% this year.
Musk began his company’s earnings call last month by saying that his time spent running DOGE will drop “significantly” by the end of May, though he would still spend one or two days a week on his government work until the end of Trump’s term.
Hartung, who was known for taking a disciplined approach to Chipotle’s finances during the Covid-19 pandemic, will expand Tesla’s board to nine members. Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia was the last addition to the Tesla board in 2022.
The SEC filing on Friday noted that Hartung’s son-in-law is a service technician for the EV maker.
Tesla did not disclose details about Hartung’s relationship with Kimbal Musk, Elon Musk’s brother. Kimbal Musk sits on Tesla’s board and served on the board of Chipotle from 2013 to 2019, during Hartung’s tenure.
Hartung held a variety of roles at the fast-casual burrito chain, joining the company in 2002 and rising in ranks to become its chief financial officer. Chipotle went public in 2006 and shares in the company are up by more than 100 times since then.
On May 6, Chipotle announced Hartung would step down from his current role as president and strategy chief on June 1, and would stay on in a senior advisory role through early March of next year.
Tesla posted a statement on social media site X, which is also owned by Musk, welcoming Hartung to the company.
Hartung serves on the board of the Chicago street food business Portillo’s; beauty and baby care products maker The Honest Company; and Zocdoc, a site for booking medical appointments.
Tesla is currently preparing to launch its “retro-futuristic” diner in Los Angeles, which had been in development for about seven years.
