Less than a week after leading SpaceX to a record-breaking IPO, Elon Musk has added a long-time friend and ally to the rocket maker's board of directors: Roelof Botha, CNBC reported.
Botha
SpaceX said in a filing on Wednesday that Botha will become an independent director immediately and serve as a member of the company's audit committee. This would make him SpaceX's eighth board member. In addition to serving as CEO and technical leader, Musk also serves as chairman of the company.
Botha has been with venture capital firm Sequoia Capital since 2003, eventually being promoted to managing director in 2022 before stepping down from the position last year. He is now an advisor to Sequoia Capital and is listed on its website as a member of its seed and early-stage investment teams as well as its growth team.
Musk recruited Botha to join PayPal as early as 2000, when it was founded. Both of them are from South Africa.
Sequoia Capital has been a big backer of Musk's companies, investing not only in SpaceX but also in Neuralink and The Boring Company. It was also involved in Musk's leveraged buyout of Twitter (now known as X), which is now acquired by SpaceX.