Elon Musk Selected to Join Board of Company That Owns UFC and Miss Universe

April 1, 2021 2 min read

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk has been selected to join the board of Endeavor Group Holdings, the company announced in its IPO filing on Wednesday. 

Founded by Ari Emanuel, the company owns and manages the UFC, the Miss Universe pageant and New York Fashion Week, among other live events. Now, it hopes to bring on one of the most recognizable names as one of its 11 directors. 

“Mr. Musk was selected to serve on our board of directors because of his professional background and experience running a public company, his previously held senior executive-level positions, his service on other public company boards and his experience starting, growing and integrating businesses,” Endeavor said in the filing. 

Related: Elon Musk Suggests in Tweet That Tesla Could Be Bigger Than Apple in a Few Months, Then Deletes It

In addition to explaining its decision to nominate Musk to the board, the company also addressed concerns surrounding the SpaceX and Tesla CEO’s settlement with the SEC in 2018. Musk was forced to step down as Tesla’s chairman and pay a fine after he claimed on Twitter that he was considering taking Tesla private. 

“Without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, Mr. Musk agreed to a monetary penalty and to step down as Tesla Inc.’s Chairman of the Board for a period of time,” Endeavor said. “There are no restrictions on Mr. Musk’s ability to serve as an officer or a director on a company’s board.”

Musk must still be elected before serving as one of Endeavor’s directors. 

According to CNBC, Endeavor filed for an IPO two years ago but pulled back its plan to go public following weak interest from investors. Last year, the company did $3.48 billion in sales, posting a net loss of $625.3 million.