Monday, December 17, 2018
Sarah O’Brien, who exited Tesla in September as VP-communications, has joined Facebook as VP for executive communications.
She left Tesla following a tumultuous year for CEO Elon Musk, who drew heat from Securities and Exchange Commission after he tweeted about a $420 per-share go-private takeover offer.
Tesla and the SEC reached a settlement in September in a securities fraud suit in which Musk stepped down from the chairman position, agreed to appoint independent directors and paid $40M in penalites.
O’Brien joined Tesla in 2006 after eight years at Apple, overseeing PR for the iPhone and music PR in the EMEA region.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg have had a brutal year of the communications front, capped by the November New York Times blockbuster article about spreading disinformation about critics.
Facebook recruited Nick Clegg, former head of Britiain’s Liberal Party, to head global public affairs.