Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, made a fiery, last-minute plea on a Tesla earnings call, urging investors to ratify his $1 trillion pay package. The plea came as an interruption of his CFO, turning a standard call about AI and robotaxis into a dramatic event.
Shareholders are set to vote on the massive compensation plan at Tesla’s annual meeting in Austin on November 6. Musk used the earnings call as a platform to lobby for their approval, arguing the package is essential for his leadership.
Musk explained his rationale by expressing fears about losing control of Tesla’s advanced projects. “I just don’t feel comfortable building a robot army here and then being ousted,” he said. He directly attacked advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis for their “asinine recommendations” against the plan.
The CEO insisted he needed “enough voting control to give a strong influence,” but not absolute power. In a typical Musk fashion, he added a qualifier: “But not not so much that I can’t be fired if I go insane.”
Tesla’s CFO, Vaibhav Taneja, closed the 75-minute call by defending the compensation package. He reiterated that the board committee designed it to align Musk’s interests with investors, tying the payout directly to “substantial returns” for shareholders. Taneja repeatedly urged a “yes” vote.