Elon Musk could leave Tesla if he doesn't get his $1 trillion pay package, board chair warns
Musk's threats to leave Tesla could dramatically impact his own net worth, which is tied to Tesla's stock
If shareholders don't approve Elon Musk's eye-popping pay package, valued at nearly $1 trillion, the world's richest man could walk away from the company, warned Tesla's chairman of the board in a note to shareholders on Monday.
Suggested Reading
And if that were to happen, warned Chair Robyn Denholm, it could be devastating to the company's stock.
Related Content
“Without Elon, Tesla could lose significant value, as our company may no longer be valued for what we aim to become,” Denholm wrote.
It's the latest move in a high-stakes game of chicken over the unprecedented pay package. Musk has argued it's less about the money and more about him getting increased voting power as the company pivots from solely manufacturing electric vehicles to also building humanoid robots. Last week, on an earnings call, Musk himself lobbied for the pay package and made a similar threat, saying “If we build this robot army, do I have at least a strong influence over that robot army? I don’t feel comfortable building that robot army if I don’t have at least a strong influence.”
Musk's threats to leave Tesla could dramatically impact his own net worth, which is tied to Tesla's stock. Just under half of his net worth is in Tesla stock, so if the shares see a sharp drop, so too does his fortune.
Unions and watchdog groups have pushed back strongly against the proposed pay package, which would reward Musk for hitting a series of 12 milestones, with the highest being the company's market value reaches $8.5 trillion.
Among the other influential opponents of the package is Pope Leo, who said last month "Yesterday the news [was announced] that Elon Musk is going to be the first trillionaire in the world. What does that mean and what’s that about? If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble…"
Tesla shareholder will vote on Musk’s pay through 11:59 p.m. ET on Nov. 5. The company's annual meeting is Nov. 6.