Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday claimed stakeholders voted to reapprove his record pay package before the company’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday.
Posting a graph supposedly tracking votes on the pay measure, Mr. Musk said his package already received the minimum number of votes to pass.
“Both Tesla shareholder resolutions are currently passing by wide margins!” he posted. “Thanks for your support!!”
Tesla’s board has not confirmed Mr. Musk’s assertion, and the results of the ongoing vote will be announced later Thursday during the meeting.
The results are a test of Mr. Musk’s control over Tesla. The key measures on the docket Thursday are Mr. Musk’s pay package, worth about $50 billion, and whether to move the company’s incorporation from Delaware to Texas.
Both measures spring from a Delaware judge’s decision to throw out Mr. Musk’s record pay plan. In January, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen McCormick ruled that the package was “deeply flawed” and that Mr. Musk had too much control over its conditions.
After Judge McCormick’s decision, Mr. Musk demanded that Tesla’s board reapprove the package and move the company’s incorporation away from Delaware.
In the five months since the decision, Tesla shareholders have had their chance to publicly condemn or support Mr. Musk’s measures. Several key shareholders and executives have argued that Tesla needs Mr. Musk’s full attention and should approve the package. Some of the more public supporters of the package include Tesla chairwoman Robyn Denholm and major investors Ron Baron and Cathie Wood.
Those in favor of the package have said that if shareholders reject the plan, Mr. Musk could leave the electric vehicle giant. Others say he spends too much energy at his other companies, such as X and SpaceX.
Those shareholders have mostly come out against the deal, agreeing with the ruling of Judge McCormick.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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