| Thanks for reading Hyperdrive, Bloomberg's newsletter on the future of the auto world. With controversy swirling around Elon Musk's political activities and Tesla cars being torched by protestors, where is Chair Robyn Denholm? On Tuesday, she was in Melbourne addressing a financial services conference in her role as the chair of the Tech Council of Australia — and studiously ignored questions about Tesla and Musk. On her way into the conference venue, Denholm said nothing when asked if she was concerned about Musk's right-right allegiances or his opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Asked if she had a message for Tesla shareholders, she didn't respond. A woman accompanying Denholm said they wouldn't comment or respond to any questions. Denholm then gave a keynote that focused on Australia's inadequate investment in research and development, and didn't touch on Tesla.  Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm speaking Tuesday in Melbourne. Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg The appearance was a missed opportunity to address all manner of crises enveloping the automaker. Musk's role as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump has made Tesla a target for protests and vandalism at home and abroad. The billionaire CEO's actions and social media activity are alienating would-be buyers and leading owners of Tesla cars to distance themselves from his politics and the company's damaged brand. Shortly after Denholm's appearance, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said Tesla's sales in the region plunged 40% in February. The company's 43% drop in the first two months of the year looks all the more abysmal when compared with the 31% rise in industrywide registrations of new EVs. The time and attention Musk has been devoting to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency has exacerbated concerns that the CEO is overstretched and devoting insufficient time to Tesla. Even before Musk began overseeing efforts to purge federal workers and gut government agencies, Tesla was one of six companies he was leading (the others being SpaceX, X, xAI, Boring Company and Neuralink.) Musk, the world's richest man with a more than $340 billion fortune, told Fox Business earlier this month that he was having "great difficulty" running his businesses in parallel with all he's been up to in Washington. He sought to reassure Tesla employees during an all-hands meeting last week, urging them to hang on to their stock. Denholm's ability to influence Musk has long been a subject of debate. A US judge ruled last year that Denholm lacked independence because she owed most of her wealth to her services as a Tesla director. She raked in $280 million exercising Tesla options just in 2021 and 2022, a sum she described as "life-changing." Denholm's appearance at the Asia Pacific Financial and Innovation Symposium in Melbourne might be her last as chair of the Tech Council of Australia — the usual hat she wears for public appearances in her home country — after recently announcing she would cede the role to Scott Farquhar, co-founder of software company Atlassian. One of the group's initiatives has been to increase the number of women working in the tech industry. It announced a program earlier this month with several companies that will "highlight the benefit of tech careers and the promotion of gender, equity, and inclusion in the tech sector." That's at odds with Musk's stance on DEI, which he's called "just another word for racism." He's also written and amplified posts on X blaming everything from the Los Angeles wildfires to Boeing's manufacturing lapses on DEI policies. — By Angus Whitley  Dan Albert's 2000 Honda Acty has a cargo bed that's more than six feet long. Like all Japanese market vehicles, it's right-hand drive. Photo courtesy of Dan Albert Dan Albert, an author and automotive historian, had a dilemma when his 2007 Ford F-150 finally succumbed to New England's salted roads. Searching for a replacement returned only trucks that were more ego than cargo, with big engines and four doors but tiny beds. Prices for new models were five times what he'd paid back in 2013 for what was then a six-year-old pickup. He explored getting a kei truck — a class of vehicles that aren't sold new in the US, but make up about a third of car sales in Japan. While Americans can legally import older models, several state departments of motor vehicles have balked at registering the imported machines, saying that they're unsafe for American streets. | 
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