Tesla shareholders voted on Thursday to ratify CEO Elon Musk’s 2018 pay plan, despite a Delaware court’s ruling that the compensation package was improperly granted. The vote took place at Tesla’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas, and though it doesn’t override the court’s decision, it marks a significant public relations win for Musk.
Musk addressed the shareholders after the preliminary results were announced, expressing his gratitude with, “I just want to start off by saying hot d—! I love you guys.” According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, 77% of those who voted supported the compensation package.
The 2018 pay plan, which was once valued at up to $56 billion in Tesla stock, faced judicial scrutiny in January when a Delaware court labeled it “unfathomable.” Judge Kathaleen McCormick criticized Tesla’s board for lacking independence from Musk and failing to properly negotiate or fully inform shareholders before voting on the plan.
Tesla shares rose 2.9% on Thursday, closing at $182.47 after Musk indicated that the proposal was likely to pass. Despite this rise, the stock remains down 27% for the year, as Tesla grapples with declining sales due to an aging lineup of electric vehicles and increased competition in China.
During the annual meeting, shareholders voted on several proxy proposals, including Musk’s effort to move Tesla’s incorporation from Delaware to Texas, home to the company’s largest U.S. factory. This move was approved by shareholders.
In last year’s shareholder meeting, Musk had predicted economic improvement, the delivery of Cybertrucks by late 2023, and hinted at experimenting with advertising. Over the past year, Tesla has fulfilled these predictions, holding a Cybertruck delivery event and beginning to advertise, including on X, the social media platform Musk acquired for $44 billion in late 2022.
Despite previously promising to reduce his time on X, Musk remains heavily involved in multiple ventures. He is also CEO of SpaceX and Neuralink, and founded a new company called xAI, focused on developing large language models and an AI chatbot named Grok.
At the meeting, Musk, describing himself as “pathologically optimistic,” assured shareholders of Tesla’s progress in developing autonomous vehicle technology. He claimed that such advancements could “10x the value of the company.” However, despite Musk’s long-standing promises since 2016, fully autonomous technology is yet to be delivered, while competitors like Pony.ai, Didi, and Waymo have launched commercial robotaxi services.
Musk outlined plans for a ride-hailing network featuring Tesla vehicles equipped with self-driving systems, likening it to an Airbnb model where users can add or remove their cars from the fleet at will.
Regarding the Cybertruck, Musk reported increasing deliveries, with the company reaching a weekly record of 1,300 shipments. He also promised that Tesla would begin “limited production” of its humanoid robot, Optimus, in 2025, with plans to test these robots in Tesla’s factories next year. By next year, he expects to have “over 1,000, or a few thousand” Optimus robots working at Tesla.
