Tesla Shareholders Approve Elon Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Package

Tesla shareholders voted Thursday to o.k. Elon Musk’s staggering caller salary package, successful a move aimed astatine retaining nan arguable CEO’s activity during a clip of awesome upheaval for nan automaker. Over 75 percent of shares voted successful favour of nan proposal.

The ballot gives Musk tremendous sway complete his electrical conveyance company, arsenic good arsenic awards him pinch nan largest firm payout successful history. The last tally is expected to beryllium disclosed successful a Securities and Exchange Commission filing successful a fewer days.

The projected salary package, which was put guardant by nan committee past September, would grant Musk much than 423 cardinal further shares, expanding his liking to astir 25 percent from its existent level of 15 percent. In bid to person nan afloat compensation, Musk would request to execute a bid of milestones, including raising Tesla’s marketplace capitalization from its existent $1.5 trillion to $8.5 trillion successful 10 years. Musk must besides put into work 1 cardinal robotaxis and waste 12 cardinal much cars, 10 cardinal Full Self-Driving subscriptions, and 1 cardinal humanoid robots. 

In nan run-up to nan vote, Tesla warned shareholders that a nonaccomplishment to o.k. nan tremendous payout would consequence losing Musk to different endeavors. The compensation package is aimed astatine luring him backmost to nan EV company, moreover though Musk seems much motivated by the thought of creating — and controlling — a “robot army.”

Musk would request to execute a bid of milestones, including raising Tesla’s marketplace capitalization from its existent $1.5 trillion to $8.5 trillion successful 10 years.

The ballot was opposed by immoderate of Tesla’s largest shareholders, including Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway’s sovereign wealthiness fund, arsenic good arsenic immoderate smaller nationalist pension funds, specified arsenic nan American Federation of Teachers and various New York City status systems. Major proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis person besides travel retired against nan salary proposal. 

Musk’s existent compensation package, weighted astatine much than $50 billion, was invalidated by a Delaware tribunal past twelvemonth aft a judge recovered that Tesla’s committee lacked capable independency from nan billionaire CEO. Shareholders had voted doubly to approve nan hefty compensation, but nan judge still upheld her ruling blocking it. Tesla has appealed nan decision to nan Delaware Supreme Court. The ruling spurred Musk to technologist a connection to move Tesla’s ineligible location from Delaware to Texas, which shareholders besides approved. 

The caller grant comes arsenic nan committee continues to push nan connection that Tesla is connected nan cusp of becoming a leader successful AI and robotics, requiring Musk’s dependable manus connected nan helm. In reality, 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 assistance programs spawned a nationwide protestation activity and a steep driblet successful sales. The expiration of nan national EV taxation in installments is expected to lead to an moreover further driblet successful sales. 

Whether Musk tin execute these audacious goals group retired successful nan salary package seems progressively astatine likelihood pinch his attack to nan technology. Tesla rolled retired its first robotaxi work successful Austin, Texas, earlier this twelvemonth — though nan work fell short of Musk’s earlier predictions. The cars still each characteristic information monitors, either successful nan driver aliases rider spot — though Musk has said they could beryllium removed by nan extremity of nan year. The company’s only caller merchandise since 2020, nan Cybertruck, has wide been considered a user flop. And title from different automakers, particularly those successful China, has been shrinking Tesla’s marketplace stock and sapping its resources.