Tesla shareholders have approved a multi-billion dollar pay package for CEO Elon Musk, estimated to be the largest in US corporate history.The Tesla CEO could still face a long legal fight to convince a Delaware judge who invalidated the package in January.
Shareholders also approved a proposal to move the company's legal home to Texas from Delaware, alongside three other approvals including the re-election of two board members: Mr Musk's brother, Kimbal Musk, and James Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Tesla's share price has dropped about 60 per cent from its 2021 peak as EV sales have slowed and Mr Musk's attention has wavered between Tesla and other companies he runs.Senior researcher at Leverage Shares, which owns Tesla's stock, Sandeep Rao said the approval "vindicates Musk".The board had said that Mr Musk deserves the package because he hit all the ambitious targets on market value, revenue and profitability.
"Elon Musk and Chair Denholm have made this about CEO loyalty and presented the votes as a decision about whether the company can keep Musk," the bank's chief sustainability officer Ivan Frishberg said.Tesla had been drumming up support for Mr Musk's pay package, especially from retail investors, who make up an unusually high percentage of its ownership base but who often do not vote.
The Delaware judge who ruled against the package criticised Tesla's board for being "beholden" to him, saying the plan was proposed by a conflicted board with close personal and financial ties to its top executive. 'My ex pretended he couldn't pack a dishwasher': Readers share experiences with weaponised incompetence