Tesla chair on CEO Elon Musk's promises: Setting 'audacious goals' drives success - CNBC

Robyn Denholm, chairman of Tesla Inc., speaks during an American Chamber of Commerce in Australia event in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday, March 27, 2019.

Brendon Thorne | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's "audacious goals" have helped drive the company's success, Chairwoman Robyn Denholm said Friday.

"To achieve what Tesla has achieved over the last five years, over the last 10 years, you have to set audacious goals and big goals ... and then have everybody in the company work like crazy to get there," she said in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box."

Tesla, for instance, completed its new factory in Shanghai in 10 months and recently hit 97,000 vehicles a quarter, Denholm cited as examples. She replaced Musk as chair in November.

"I think part of it is setting those very big goals so that the company can rally and get behind them and move forward, and move the whole industry forward," she said.

Denholm's remarks come two days after the company reported a surprise third-quarter profit and told shareholders it is ahead of schedule with a new factory in Shanghai.

Shares spiked more than 20% after hours Wednesday. The stock closed Thursday at $299.68, a 17.67% increase.

Ark Investment Management founder and CEO Catherine Wood told CNBC that Thursday's surge in Tesla stock is just the beginning of an eventual rise to $4,000 per share and possibly beyond.

Tesla shares have been on a wild ride since nearing all-time highs in August 2018. Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted he had "funding secured" to take the company private at $420 per share — plans abandoned weeks later. However, the now-infamous tweet on Aug. 7, 2018 led to a Securities and Exchange Commission probe on accusations of "false and misleading" statements. Musk and Tesla reached a , which required, in part, Musk to relinquish his role as chairman of the board.

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