Elon Musk used the tail end of a Tesla earnings call to launch a full-throated attack on shareholder advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis. The CEO is lobbying for a $1 trillion pay package and blasted the firms for advising investors to vote against it.
In a “classic Musk” move, the world’s richest person interrupted his CFO during the 75-minute call. He dismissed the advisory firms’ opposition as “asinine recommendations” from people who “have no freaking clue” and don’t represent shareholder interests.
Musk’s outburst was a fiery end to an otherwise “ho-hum” call focused on Tesla’s AI and robotics projects. He directly linked his pay package to these ambitions, stating, “I just don’t feel comfortable building a robot army here and then being ousted.”
He argued for “enough voting control to give a strong influence,” while simultaneously reassuring investors he didn’t want total control. Musk stated he still wanted to be in a position where he “can’t be fired if I go insane.”
The final decision on the pay package will be made by shareholders on Nov. 6 in Austin. Tesla’s CFO Vaibhav Taneja concluded the call by urging investors to approve the plan, emphasizing it is tied to “substantial returns” for them.