Tesla Proposes Giving Elon Musk $29 Billion So He Stays Ceo

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illustration of Elon Musk surrounded by money.

Tesla approved a restricted banal grant of 96 cardinal shares, worthy astir $29 billion, to “incentivize” nan arguable billionaire to stay astatine nan caput of nan institution during a prolonged ineligible battle complete his original salary package.

Last year, a Delaware tribunal voided Musk’s salary package, weighted astatine much than $50 billion, arguing that nan woody was flawed and unfair to shareholders and that Musk held undue power complete its composition. Shareholders had voted doubly to approve the hefty compensation, but nan judge still upheld her ruling blocking it. Tesla has appealed nan decision to nan Delaware Supreme Court.

Now, nan institution is asking shareholders to o.k. this caller award, arguing that Tesla is connected nan cusp of becoming a leader successful AI and robotics, requiring Musk’s dependable manus connected nan helm. To beryllium sure, Tesla’s position is shakier than ever. Musk’s support for President Donald Trump and his activity astatine nan Department of Government Efficiency to occurrence tens of thousands of national workers and cancel humanitarian adjutant programs has spawned a nationwide protestation activity and a steep driblet successful sales. Tesla’s banal has shed much than 20 percent of its worth truthful acold this year.

A Letter to Our Shareholders connected nan 2025 CEO Interim Award

Dear Fellow Tesla Shareholders,

Today we denote an important first measurement successful compensating Elon Musk for his bonzer activity astatine Tesla. As you know, Elon has not received meaningful compensation for 8 years since…

— Tesla (@Tesla) August 4, 2025

Still, Tesla’s committee sees Musk’s continued engagement arsenic basal to nan company’s future. Earlier this year, Tesla’s committee created a typical committee compromised of committee chair Robyn Denholm and committee personnel Kathleen Wilson-Thompson to see caller ways to compensate Musk, who nan committee claims “has not received meaningful compensation for 8 years.”

“While we admit that Elon’s business ventures, interests and different imaginable demands connected his clip and attraction are extended and wide-ranging … we are assured that this grant will incentivize Elon to stay astatine Tesla and attraction his unmatched activity abilities connected further creating shareholder worth for Tesla shareholders and attracting and retaining talent astatine Tesla,” Denholm and Wilson-Thompson wrote successful a missive to shareholders.

The committee noted that if nan Delaware courts afloat reinstate Musk’s 2018 salary package, nan caller interim assistance would beryllium forfeited aliases offset truthful location is “no double dip.” In accepting nan caller stock, Musk would work together to service arsenic caput of Tesla until 2027. Shareholders will ballot connected nan caller woody astatine their yearly meeting, which is scheduled for November 6th.

After years of exponential growth, nan abrupt reversal successful Tesla’s luck has near galore investors and supporters pinch whiplash. As Musk slid deeper into politics, investors person urged him to enactment focused connected Tesla and its costly — and questionable — task to build much self-driving cars and humanoid robots. The institution rolled retired its first robotaxi work successful Austin, Texas, past period — though nan service fell short of Musk’s earlier predictions. The company’s only caller merchandise since 2020, nan Cybertruck, has wide been considered a flop. And title from bequest automakers, particularly those successful China, has been sapping Tesla’s resources.

Musk is presently Tesla’s largest shareholder, pinch a 13 percent liking successful nan company. But nan CEO has said he wants much power complete nan institution successful bid to person much sway complete its ngo — which this plans intends to produce.

“That is simply a awesome interest for me, arsenic I’ve mentioned successful nan past, and I dream that is addressed astatine nan upcoming shareholders meeting,” Musk said successful a caller net call, successful consequence to a mobility astir his voting stake. “I want to find that I’ve sewage truthful small power that I tin easy beryllium ousted by activistic shareholders aft having built this service of humanoid robots … I’ve mentioned before, I deliberation my power of Tesla should beryllium capable to guarantee that it goes successful a bully direction, but not truthful overmuch power that I can’t beryllium thrown retired if I spell crazy.”

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