(Bloomberg/Miguel Ambriz) — The Tesla Inc. pay package for Elon Musk is overly generous and lacks clear performance metrics to justify the $1 trillion the world’s richest person could earn under the automaker’s proposal, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said.
“The board oversight has not been as independent or as stringent as it should be. How many billions and trillions does one person need to make?” DiNapoli said in a Bloomberg Television interview Thursday. “My concern is that the compensation package, while it may have some broad milestones in there, there really should be more clear metrics to really justify this very, very generous payout. How much money does one person need?”
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The state plans to vote against the compensation package and Tesla directors up for reelection on Nov. 6, DiNapoli said.
Proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis have also recommended that investors reject the unprecedented payout to Musk, the value of which is dependent on Tesla reaching a litany of market value thresholds and operational milestones. ISS cited “unmitigated concerns” with the magnitude and design of the award, while Glass Lewis took issue with its potential to dilute other shareholders’ ownership.
On an earnings conference call Wednesday, Musk pleaded with investors to approve the pay package and criticized the shareholder-advisory firms that have come out against the proposal.
“I just don’t feel comfortable building a robot army here, and then being ousted because of some asinine recommendations from ISS and Glass Lewis, who have no freaking clue,” he said.
Musk, 54, ranks No. 1 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of about $455 billion.
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