Elon Musk’s emoluments continue to cause a stir. The specialized consulting firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has advised Tesla shareholders to reject the stratospheric remuneration proposed by the board of directors to “retain and motivate” the richest man in the world, according to the Financial times. Shareholders will have to vote on November 6 at their annual meeting on this plan, which could lead to paying $1 trillion in shares to Elon Musk over the next ten years. The latter threatened several times to leave the company if his income did not increase.
On paper, this colossal salary is conditional on very lofty objectives: multiply Tesla’s adjusted profit by 24, market capitalization by 8, sell 12 million additional cars, 10 million autonomous driving subscriptions, operate 1 million Robotaxis… The shares would be released in installments, as the value of Tesla increases. To justify its negative opinion, the ISS company considers that there are “absolute concerns about the magnitude and design of the special remuneration”, while some shareholders fear that the technology magnate will be “distracted by his other activities.”
A compensation plan already rejected in 2018
This is not the first time Elon Musk’s compensation has been debated. A previous $56 billion plan, approved by the board of directors and a large majority of Tesla shareholders in 2018, was rejected by Delaware courts, in the hands of one shareholder. According to the ruling, the businessman had issued his mandates to directors who, given their relationships with him or their personal interests, were not independent enough to oppose them. Tesla appealed and moved its headquarters to Texas.
In early October, Elon Musk’s net worth briefly surpassed the $500 billion mark, according to Forbes magazine, and today stands at $455 billion, according to Bloomberg. His stake in Tesla represents the majority of his professional wealth. Added to the latter are its shares in Space X, X Corp. (formerly Twitter), Neuralink (brain implants), The Boring Company (urban planning) and xAI (artificial intelligence).
Source: BFM TV
