Elon Musk Lobbies on X for His $46.5 Billion Tesla Pay Package
The New York Times
The Tesla chief executive is taking to his social media company to press shareholders to vote for a critical pay package on June 13.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, offered a personal tour of the electric carmaker’s factory in Austin, Texas, to select shareholders this week.
“Please let us know if you have any questions about voting your Tesla shares!” Mr. Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns.
It was just one of at least a dozen posts that Mr. Musk has published on X in recent weeks as Tesla’s shareholders have been voting on a $46.5 billion pay package for him.
To encourage approval of the package, Mr. Musk has shared on X a sizzle reel of Tesla’s vehicles speeding through deserts at dusk. He has said he needs enough shares in the company to maintain control over it, especially as it ramps up its artificial intelligence efforts. And he has lashed out at investors who have said they will oppose his pay.
“Thanks to all Tesla vote supporters!” Mr. Musk wrote in a post on May 16, following up two days later with: “Shareholders have the right to vote their shares!” On Thursday, he said shareholders who voted against him were “oathbreakers.”
The messages on X underline how crucial the pay package is for Mr. Musk after a Delaware judge voided it in January. The judge ruled in favor of a dissident shareholder who had sued Tesla, claiming Mr. Musk’s compensation was excessive.
