Tesla shareholders will determine the fate of a massive pay package meant to retain Elon Musk long enough to achieve technological breakthroughs he vows will change the world.
Musk – who has boasted that Tesla’s engineering prowess in artificial intelligence, autonomy and robotics will leave rival tech giants in the dust – stands to garner as much as $1 trillion in an unprecedented package tied to performance benchmarks.
Tesla Chair Robin Denholm has appeared on CNBC and other broadcasts in recent weeks to sell the plan in a sign of the board’s continued enthusiastic backing for Musk, despite criticism the billionaire’s embrace of conservative political figures has weighed on sales.
“Without Elon, Tesla could lose significant value, as our company may no longer be valued for what we aim to become: a transformative force reimagining the fundamental building blocks of mobility, energy and labor,” Denholm said in an Oct. 27 message to shareholders.
Musk himself has hinted he could leave Tesla or take a back seat if his ownership share is not raised enough to give him the influence over its future that he desires.
The package could lift Musk’s holding to more than 25% of Tesla shares from its current level of more than 12%.
