Musk Says $1 Trillion Pay Package Needed to Protect Tesla from ‘Corporate Terrorists’
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has defended his push for a record-breaking $1 trillion compensation package, saying it is necessary to secure his control over the company and safeguard it from what he described as “corporate terrorists.”
Speaking during an investor call on Wednesday, Musk claimed that influential proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis pose a threat to Tesla’s future. He accused the firms – whose recommendations often guide large institutional investors – of making “asinine” and “destructive” decisions.
“I just don’t feel comfortable building a robot army here and then being ousted because of some asinine recommendations from ISS and Glass Lewis, who have no clue,” Musk said. “They’ve made many terrible recommendations that could have been extremely damaging to Tesla’s future.”
Musk insisted his motivation was not personal wealth but maintaining enough voting power to influence the company’s direction. “It’s not like I’m going to go spend the money,” he said. “There just needs to be enough voting control to give me strong influence – but not so much that I can’t be fired if I go insane.”
Tesla’s board has backed the massive pay proposal, arguing it is key to keeping Musk focused on the company despite his multiple ventures, including SpaceX, xAI, and X (formerly Twitter). “Retaining and incentivizing Elon is fundamental to Tesla achieving its goals and becoming the most valuable company in history,” the board said in a proxy statement.
ISS and Glass Lewis have reportedly advised shareholders to vote against Musk’s latest compensation plan, as they did in 2018. However, Tesla investors previously approved a similar package with overwhelming support, even after a Delaware court later struck it down on governance grounds.
Musk currently owns about 413 million Tesla shares, with conditional rights to additional shares if the court upholds parts of the earlier pay plan – giving him roughly 16% ownership. The proposed new package could add options for another 423.7 million shares, valued at close to $1 trillion if Tesla hits its future performance targets.
The Delaware Supreme Court is currently reviewing the earlier ruling that voided Musk’s prior compensation deal, setting the stage for what could become one of the most consequential corporate governance cases in U.S. history.
