Tesla defends record $1 trillion pay package for Elon Musk
What's the story
Tesla's board chair Robyn Denholm has defended the company's proposed $1 trillion compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk. The 10-year package, which would be the largest in corporate history, was revealed in a recent regulatory filing. Denholm said that Musk's pay should depend on his ability to achieve "seemingly impossible goals," even as the company faces a drop in sales and profits.
Motivation
'Musk is driven by doing things no one has: Denholm
Denholm emphasized that Musk is driven by doing things that no one else has done before. She said, "Putting together any compensation plan, you need to look at what motivates the individual that you're trying to motivate. And for Elon, it's doing things that no one else has done before." The board chair is leading a campaign to get investor approval for this unprecedented pay package.
Performance
Denholm defends pay package amid concerns over Tesla's performance
Despite concerns over Tesla's recent sales decline, profit drop, and Cybertruck underperformance, Denholm defended the pay package. She said that the focus on its value is misplaced as Musk is more interested in voting power than wealth. "It's actually about the voting influence in the company for the next generation of growth that he sees," she explained.
Criticism
Musk to get payout only if Tesla hits lofty targets
Responding to critics of Tesla's proposed trillion-dollar pay package for Musk, Denholm said, "This plan is about future performance. It's not about past performance. He gets nothing if he doesn't perform against the goals." For Musk to get the payout, Tesla would have to hit lofty targets like one million robotaxis, one million robots, and a stock value of $8.5 trillion among others.
Focus
Denholm on whether cars are still Tesla's main business
Denholm maintained that cars are still Tesla's main business, despite its growing battery sales. She said, "There is still a lot of ambition in the vehicle space." Without going into details about future products, she revealed Musk has shifted his focus from cars to a vision of "sustainable abundance" with self-driving taxis and humanoid robots.