But none has been as divisive as Musk’s salary. In the run-up to the vote, deep divisions among investors were revealed. Tesla board chairwoman Robyn Denholm supported the pay package, as did billionaire investor Ron Baron. “Tesla is better with Elon” – Baron – he wrote last week in an open letter. “Tesla is Elon.” But opponents of the deal include two influential proxy advisory groups that advise institutional investors on the vote, as well as shareholders in the Nordic countries, where Tesla has clashed with workers over labor rights.
Norway’s trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund said it would vote against the wage deal, as did the country’s largest pension fund KLP. “While we acknowledge that the company has grown significantly and successfully during the earnings period, we note that the total value of the award remains excessive,” Kiran Aziz, KLP’s director of responsible investing, told WIRED, adding that the fund would vote in favor of a motion calling on Tesla to take part in labor negotiations. “Last [dispute] between Tesla and the company’s employees in Sweden, as well as Tesla’s history of accusations of interference with workers’ rights, raise great concerns and show that the company needs to do better in this area.”
There was intense lobbying behind the scenes of the vote. Tesla paid for ads on Google and X, which is owned by Musk, according to the company, urging investors to “protect your investment” and support the proposal sawing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In April, Tesla also launched a website urging shareholders to vote against the Delaware court’s decision and support the pay package. “The Court’s decision, if implemented, will mean that Elon will receive no compensation for his enormous achievements, which in less than six years have delivered significant returns for shareholders,” the website reads reads.
“It’s the stupidest job ad I can remember,” says Robert Anderson, a professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law. He believes the Musk Effect – the CEO’s ability to attract endless publicity – has contributed to this situation. But he adds that both the compensation package and the proposed move to Texas are unprecedented in the business world. “Or [of] these things would be quite significant in themselves, even if he were not a public figure.
The vote will be decided by a mix of institutional investors, as well as an unusually enormous group of retail investors who control approximately 44 percent business. There are concerns among shareholders that if Musk doesn’t get compensation, “his attention may be more focused on other ventures,” Anderson says. Musk has managed to combine many ventures over the years, but since acquiring the social networking site Twitter and changing its name to X, he has become more spread out in public places. There, his apparent turn towards right-wing politics gained new fans and left old ones behind.
Whatever happens this week, Tesla and Musk may look a little less superhuman. For years, both have insisted that Tesla is a technology company, with a Silicon Valley-style startup. “We should be seen as an artificial intelligence or robotics company,” Musk told investors – or voters – in April. “If you only value Tesla as a car company… it’s basically just the wrong framework.”