James Murdoch, son of British media mogul Rupert Murdoch, is reportedly a front-runner to replace CEO Elon Musk as chairman of Tesla's board.
The 45-year-old has worked as the CEO of 21st Century Fox since 2015 and most recently oversaw the company's sale of its production assets — excluding Fox News and Fox Business networks — to Walt Disney.
However, Murdoch's ties to the family business have drawn criticism from Tesla investors.
"While adding new directors was a step in the right direction," CtW Investment Group said in May, "the choice of Mr. Murdoch as one of those directors does not appear well considered, given his troubled history as an executive and director, the disturbing parallels between nepotistic practices at Fox and Tesla, and his lack of relevant industry experience."
In October, the Financial Times reported Murdoch was a front-runner to replace Musk as chairman. It's not clear if those rumors were untrue or if the company's mind changed in the weeks since.
Murdoch also serves on the board of News Corp, the New York Yankees' parent company, the DIA Center for the Arts, and the Ghetto Film School, according to Bloomberg.