Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, spent the final moments of a Tesla earnings call pleading with investors to approve his $1 trillion pay package. He interrupted his CFO at the tail end of the 75-minute discussion to make his case.
This fiery interruption provided a stark contrast to the “ho-hum” call that had preceded it, which covered Tesla’s AI, Optimus robots, and robotaxi plans. The entire focus of Musk’s speech was the upcoming shareholder vote on Nov. 6 in Austin.
Musk launched a scathing attack on shareholder advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis, who have advised against the package. He called their recommendations “asinine” and declared they “have no freaking clue,” insisting they are not acting in shareholders’ interests.
The CEO justified the package by linking it to voting control, stating he needed “enough voting control to give a strong influence.” He expressed fear of “building a robot army” only to be “ousted” by these firms.
Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja had the final words, defending the board’s proposal. Taneja emphasized the pay package is performance-based, meaning Musk gets no benefit “unless shareholders make substantial returns,” and he urged a vote in favor.