(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Tesla’s annual meeting is on Thursday, and a lot is on the line—including, potentially, billionaire Elon Musk’s position as company CEO.
Tesla shareholders are reportedly going to consider a plan that would give Musk nearly $1 trillion in stock, which would up his control of the company to roughly 29%. For that, Musk would have to meet a series of goals, including increase Tesla’s value by over fourfold over the next decade, from $1.4 trillion today to $8.5 trillion by 2035, according to a Monday article in the New York Times.
The plan has reportedly sparked controversy in the corporate world. But according to Tesla chair Robyn Denholm, Musk may quit if Tesla’s board doesn’t approve it.
“We run the risk that he gives up his executive position, and Tesla may lose his time, talent and vision,” Denholm said in a letter to shareholders last week, as reported by the Times.
Tesla’s board—which includes Musk’s brother and several of his friends and business associates—is expected to approve the plan. However, a Delaware court struck down Musk’s previous pay plan because the judge reportedly found that too many board directors had cozy relationships with him. According to the Times, the Delaware Supreme Court is considering Tesla’s appeal of the decision.
Musk’s support within Tesla seems to have recovered from earlier this year, when he was receiving public backlash for his role in the Trump administration. In April, the Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla started a formal process to find its next CEO.
“Board members reached out to several executive search firms to work on a formal process for finding Tesla’s next chief executive,” the Journal reported in April, citing people familiar with the matter.
“The board narrowed its focus to a major search firm … The current status of the succession planning couldn’t be determined. It is also unclear if Musk, himself a Tesla board member, was aware of the effort, or if his pledge to spend more time at Tesla has affected succession planning.”
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.