Elon Musk pleads with Tesla investors to approve his $1 trillion pay package, blasts shareholder advisory firms

Tesla’s earnings call recently saw a sudden intervention from Elon Musk, with the company’s CEO pleading with investors to approve his mega $1 trillion pay package. Hijacking the Tesla earnings call toward the end, the world’s richest person also went after shareholder advisory firms that advised against the proposal. His intervention came in an otherwise one-dimensional call, largely based on Tesla’s artificial intelligence, humanoid robot and self-driving initiatives. “There needs to be enough voice control to give a strong influence, but not so much that I can’t be fired if I go crazy,” Elon Musk said, interrupting the chief financial officer, as the more than hour-long call came to an end. Shareholders will vote on Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package at Tesla on Nov. 6. Tesla Q2 Earnings Tesla’s earnings report was largely disappointing, with profit missing estimates despite record vehicle deliveries. Operating income fell 40% in the third quarter, reflecting continued pressure on an electric vehicle business battered by changing US policy. Costs are rising sharply for Tesla, with tariffs taking a toll of more than $400 million on last quarter’s results. Operating expenses rose 50% to $3.4 billion in the period. Tesla shares fell as much as 5.7% shortly after the start of regular trading on Thursday. The stock is up nearly 9% for the year, trailing the 14% advance by the S&P 500 index. ‘Unlimited concerns’ Proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis recommended investors reject the unprecedented payout to Musk, the value of which depends on Tesla hitting market value thresholds and operating milestones. ISS cited “unmitigating concerns” about the scope and design of the award, while Glass Lewis disputed its potential to dilute other shareholders’ ownership. Musk emphasized, as in the past, that adequate voice control is more important to him than monetary compensation from Tesla. “I just don’t feel comfortable building a robot army here and then being pushed out because of some nasty recommendations from ISS and Glass Lewis, who have no idea,” he said. After Musk finished, Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja resumed his closing remarks, praising the “incredible job” the special board committee did in setting up the award. “There is nothing passed until shareholders make substantial returns,” Taneja said, urging shareholders twice more to vote in favor of the plan. Musk (54) is number 1 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of around $455 billion. (With input from Bloomberg)