Australian Robyn Denholm, the chief financial officer at Telstra, will replace Elon Musk as chair of Tesla, the company has announced.

Key points: Ms Denholm will leave her role as CFO and head of strategy at Telstra

Ms Denholm will leave her role as CFO and head of strategy at Telstra Mr Musk heaped praise on his replacement, citing her experience with tech and motoring companies

Mr Musk heaped praise on his replacement, citing her experience with tech and motoring companies Tesla has weathered a rocky few months after Mr Musk's tweets that he had "funding secured" for a deal to take Tesla private

Ms Denholm will leave her role as CFO and head of strategy at Telstra once her six-month notice period with the company is complete, Tesla said in a statement.

Tesla said Ms Denholm, who is already chair of Tesla's audit committee, will step down from that role when she leaves Telstra.

"I look forward to helping Elon and the Tesla team achieve sustainable profitability and drive long-term shareholder value," she said in the statement.

Ms Denholm has served on the Tesla board as an independent director since 2014 and has also worked in Silicon Valley and for companies including Toyota.

Mr Musk heaped praise on his replacement.

"Robyn has extensive experience in both the tech and auto industries, and she has made significant contributions as a Tesla board member over the past four years in helping us become a profitable company," Mr Musk said in a statement.

"I look forward to working even more closely with Robyn as we continue accelerating the advent of sustainable energy."

Tesla has weathered a rocky few months in the wake of Mr Musk's tweets that he had "funding secured" for a deal, later scuttled, to take Tesla private.

Mr Musk and Tesla settled with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in September after the agency sued for fraud.

The settlement required Tesla and Mr Musk to pay a fine of $20 million each and for Mr Musk to give up his chairman role for three years. He remains CEO.

Earlier this year, Mr Musk also sparked controversy after a first-quarter earnings conference call when he criticised Wall Street analysts for asking "bonehead" questions about the company's finances.

He has also taken aim at short-sellers, or investors who borrowed shares of Tesla and immediately sold them with the hope that Tesla's share price would fall, a number of times.

ABC/Reuters