Khaberni - Robyn Denholm, Tesla's chairwoman, called on the company's shareholders to vote on its CEO Elon Musk’s compensation package, valued at about a trillion dollars, or risk him leaving.
A message from Denholm to shareholders, reported by "CNBC," stated: "Without Elon, Tesla might lose a significant part of its value, as investors might stop valuing it according to the future vision we aspire for the company to achieve," asserting that Musk is essential for the future of "Tesla" with its expansion into full autonomous driving and the humanoid robot project "Optimus."
However, the proposed compensation package faces opposition from some major shareholders; Institutional Shareholder Services—one of the largest shareholder advisory firms in the world—recommended voting against the package due to its “astronomical size,” and labor unions and regulatory bodies have launched a similar campaign highlighting that “Musk's political activity through his support for right-wing movements and promotion of conspiracy theories has damaged the brand.”
But Denholm emphasized that it's "not just about financial compensation, but about influencing voting decisions within the company," explaining that Musk wishes to have enough influence to ensure that "bad things" don't happen in the field of artificial intelligence, referencing his concerns about the misuse of robotics technologies.
If this proposed package is approved, Musk, who already owns about 13% of Tesla's shares, would receive more than 423 million additional shares, raising his stake to about 25%. It would also grant him greater voting power within the company—a demand he has openly expressed over the past year, and reiterated in Tesla’s earnings call last week referring to the growth of "Optimus" robots.
The proposed plan for Musk, which was introduced by the board in September, consists of 12 tranches of stock to be awarded if "Tesla" achieves specified milestones.
Tesla’s annual meeting will be held on November 6th, and voting on Musk’s compensation package and other proposals will close at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on November 5th.
