"Anybody who opposes me is a terrorist"
Musk attacks ‘corporate terrorists’ for voting against his $1tn pay deal
Story by Hannah Boland
• 7h
Elon Musk has branded shareholder proxy advisers as “corporate terrorists” after they opposed his $1tn (£750bn) pay package.
The Tesla chief executive said Glass Lewis and ISS had “no freaking clue” after both advisers urged shareholders to reject his pay package at the car company’s annual meeting next month.
Under the proposed scheme, Mr Musk would be in line to receive millions of shares if he turns Tesla from a $1tn company into an $8.5tn business within the next 10 years.
Mr Musk would be awarded a $1tn payday if he hits all his targets, including selling one million AI robots and having one million self-driving robotaxis on the road. This would make Mr Musk, who is already the world’s richest person, the world’s first trillionaire.
Glass Lewis and ISS have both advised Tesla shareholders to vote against the package at the company’s meeting on Nov 6.
Glass Lewis this week claimed the proposed payment terms should “warrant significant concern” as they would dilute other shareholders’ stakes, potentially giving Mr Musk a “materially increased ownership stake”.
Glass Lewis said it also could hand the Tesla boss “extraordinary pay levels without commensurately exceptional performance”.
However, Mr Musk claimed he did not view the package as “compensation”, telling investors late on Wednesday that it was designed to help bolster his voting power at the company.
Mr Musk said: “I just don’t feel comfortable building a robot army here and then being ousted because of some asinine recommendations from ISS and Glass Lewis.”
The Tesla board has previously warned that Mr Musk could walk away from the business if shareholders do not approve the package.
The latest development follows years of scrutiny over the Tesla chief’s pay awards.
Last year, a judge struck down a previous pay plan from 2018, which suggested paying Mr Musk $56bn. At the time, it was one of the largest payouts in US corporate history. Mr Musk hit his targets for that plan several years early.
In September, Robyn Denholm, the Tesla chairman, said: “Simply put, retaining and incentivising Elon is fundamental to Tesla achieving these goals and becoming the most valuable company in history.”
Writing on his social media platform X on Wednesday night, Mr Musk said the companies should be forced to register as “investment advisers”, saying: “The absurdity, arguably illegality, of them not doing so is obvious in the description.”
Investment advisers face more regulatory scrutiny than proxy advisers.
Mr Musk said Glass Lewis and ISS wielded an unduly large influence at companies. He added: “ISS and Glass Lewis have no actual ownership themselves and often vote along random political lines unrelated to shareholder interests.”
Glass Lewis and ISS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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