Tesla Shareholders Approve Elon Musk’s $1t Pay Package

Tesla shareholders person overwhelmingly approved a compensation package for CEO Elon Musk that could beryllium worthy arsenic overmuch arsenic $1 trillion successful institution shares.

More than 75% of shareholders who participated voted to o.k. nan plan, successful statement pinch nan magnitude of support Musk has received for past salary packages. As nan consequence was announced, shareholders successful nan room astatine Tesla’s Austin, Texas mill began chanting: “Elon! Elon!”

Flanked by dancing Optimus robots, Musk said Thursday that “what we’re astir to embark upon is not simply a caller section of nan early of Tesla, but a full caller book.”

Musk will not beryllium awarded $1 trillion correct away, nether nan deal. Nor will he person a salary. But he stands to make hundreds of billions of dollars and summation much power of Tesla if he helps nan institution execute a number of milestones and boost its profits on nan way. Some of those hurdles will beryllium difficult to clear. Many, though, are simply watered down versions of promises Musk has made for years.

The salary package is surgery into 12 tranches — covering operational, adjusted profit, and marketplace capitalization goals — each 1 giving much shares to Musk if those goals are reached. For instance, Tesla, which coming has a marketplace capitalization of astir $1.5 trillion, will request to steadily summation that valuation and deed $8.5 trillion successful a decade.

The ballot followed 2 months of fierce campaigning by Tesla, its committee of directors, and galore of its executives. The institution many times fired disconnected nationalist appeals for shareholders to o.k. nan package. Chairwoman Robyn Denholm, who is typically media-shy, did aggregate interviews pinch awesome news outlets, and had mislaid immoderate of her sound earlier addressing investors astatine Thursday’s meeting. Tesla moreover ran tv advertisements astir nan ballot — thing it doesn’t moreover do for its cars.

“Tesla is astatine an inflection constituent — I deliberation I’ve said that 3,000 times complete nan past fewer weeks — and this past twelvemonth has been a captious 1 successful our history,” Denholm said Thursday.

Musk encouraged shareholders to o.k. nan package because, he claimed, it was nan easiest measurement to manus him much voting power complete nan company. He presently owns astir 15%, but he’s threatened (multiple times) to time off Tesla if he doesn’t upwind up pinch astir 25% control. That magnitude would insulate him from being pushed retired and losing power of nan “robot army” Tesla is building, Musk has said.

Tesla stumped for nan package successful portion by holding up nan company’s “Master Plan 4” arsenic a visionary connection for wherever Musk tin lead things. That document, released successful September, was gauzy and unspecific — a disapproval Musk moreover agreed with. He claimed Tesla would adhd much specifics to nan “Plan” conscionable a fewer days aft it was released, but thing has changed successful nan intervening months.

Tesla’s committee of board put this salary package guardant successful ample portion because nan erstwhile scheme from 2018 (worth astir $56 billion) was struck down by Delaware’s Chancery Court past year, aft a judge ruled nan institution was not transparent astir nan speech process. Tesla has appealed nan decision.

Earlier this year, Tesla handed Musk $29 cardinal successful shares to dress up for nan nonaccomplishment of nan 2018 package, but said it would fundamentally void that magnitude should Tesla triumph connected appeal.

This communicative is developing…