In ‘watershed moment’, Tesla board to vote on Musk’s $1 trillion package

Tesla’s board is set to vote on CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package as major proxy adviser firms urge shareholders to reject the deal.

The vote is scheduled for Thursday and will determine whether Musk secures what is the largest compensation package in corporate history.
Proxy firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services have both recommended that investors vote against the package. These firms often influence large passive funds that hold significant stakes in the electric carmaker.

Tesla has faced mounting challenges this year, with global sales declining and investor confidence wavering.

In July, Tesla reported a 13.5 percent decline in sales in the United States. They jumped 7.4 percent in the third quarter ending in September compared with the same period the year before, as US consumers scrambled to take advantage of a $7,500 EV tax credit that was set to expire that month.

However, global sales are also on the decline. New car registrations fell by 89 percent in Sweden, 31 percent in Spain, and 59 percent in neighbouring Portugal in October.

Political activity hurt Tesla brand
That tension is compounded by Musk’s political profile. A former ally of US President Donald Trump, he was appointed head of the Department of Government Efficiency, where he advocated for sweeping layoffs across the federal workforce, the largest employer in the US.

Musk’s political activity has hurt Tesla’s brand while boosting its competitors. Between October 2022 and April 2025, sales of other electric and hybrid cars rose by 22 percent, according to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The study estimated that if Musk had stayed out of politics, Tesla’s sales could have been higher by 67 percent to 83 percent — equivalent to roughly 1 million to 1.26 million additional vehicles.