ISS Urges Vote Against Musk’s $1 Trillion Tesla Pay Plan

The proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has recommended that investors vote against Elon Musk’s proposed ~$1 trillion pay package at Tesla, Inc..

ISS said the deal locks in “extraordinarily high pay opportunities” over the next decade and hampers Tesla’s board from adjusting future compensation. 

The plan would grant Musk hundreds of millions of shares if Tesla hits ambitious targets such as an $8.5 trillion market cap, 20 million vehicle deliveries, and $400 billion in earnings. Even partial achievement could net Musk billions. 

Musk owns ~13.5% of Tesla’s voting power, giving him a strong position ahead of the Nov. 6 shareholder meeting. ISS valued the plan at $104 billion, a figure higher than Tesla’s own estimate. 

Tesla said the package aligns Musk’s incentives with shareholder value and called ISS’s stance “disconnected from reality”. The vote outcome could shape how corporate pay plans are structured across industries.