Tesla Shareholders Should Reject Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Package, ISS Advises
Story by Kara Carlson and Dana Hull
Bloomberg
October17, 2025
(Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc. shareholders are being urged by proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services to vote against Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s $1 trillion compensation plan, adding a potential obstacle as the board works to rally investor support.
This marks the second year in a row that ISS urged shareholders to vote against a pay package for Musk.
Musk oversees an overlapping empire of five companies: Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, Neuralink and the Boring Company.
“Although one of the main reasons for this award is to retain Musk and keep his time and attention on Tesla instead of his other business ventures, there are no explicit requirements to ensure that this will be the case,” ISS wrote in the report, which was part of broader voting guidance it issued Friday. The proxy firm cited “unmitigated concerns” with the plan’s magnitude and design.
Tesla pushed back in a post on X that urged shareholders to vote in line with the company’s recommendations.
“ISS once again completely misses fundamental points of investing and governance,” the automaker said.
“It’s easy for ISS to tell others how to vote when they have nothing on the line.”
In September, Tesla’s board proposed the long-awaited and unprecedented compensation package, designed to incentivize Musk to remain engaged with Tesla over the next decade. To unlock the full payout and additional voting control, Musk will need to reach a number of ambitious goals, including growing the company’s market value to at least $8.5 trillion and expanding its car, robotics and robotaxi businesses.
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Tesla Shareholders Should Reject Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Package, ISS Advises
Tesla's success depends on government subsidies. Musk has been on the outs with the current administration, and their policies no longer favor alternative energy or electric vehicles. |
