Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm sent shareholders a letter today pleading with them to approve CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package — which is tied to the company’s performance over the next decade — or risk losing him.
“If we fail to foster an environment that motivates Elon to achieve great things through an equitable pay-for-performance plan, we run the risk that he gives up his executive position, and Tesla may lose his time, talent and vision, which have been essential to delivering extraordinary shareholder returns,” Denholm wrote. “Without Elon, Tesla could lose significant value.”
Many have long tied Tesla’s success to retaining its longtime CEO, even Musk himself. Musk used Tesla’s earnings call last week to plea for approving his pay package, saying that it’s the voting control more than the money that’s important.
“If we build this robot army, do I have at least a strong influence over that robot army?” Musk said.
