Tesla Board Explores CEO Elon Musk’s New Compensation Agreement, Stock Options Package: Report
May 14 (Reuters) – Tesla’s board of directors has formed a special committee to review the compensation of CEO Elon Musk, which could lead to a new stock option package.
The report said the two members’ committee consists of Tesla’s board chairman Robyn Denholm and independent board member Kathleen Wilson-Thompson.
Tesla did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment outside of regular working hours. Denholm and Wilson-Thompson also did not respond to requests for comment.
The FTC said that if Tesla’s 2018 compensation package is not restored through a court appeal, the committee will also consider an alternative way to repay Musk’s past work, adding that any new stock options depend on the company that meets financial, operational and share price targets.
In 2024, a 2018 compensation package in Delaware was invalid and worth more than $50 billion, citing the approval process of Tesla’s board of directors was flawed and unfair to shareholders.
Musk appealed the order in March, claiming that the lower judge made multiple legal mistakes when revoking record compensation.
Tesla is at a turning point as its largest shareholder owns 13% stake in Musk, shifting its focus from a promised affordable electric vehicle platform to robotics and humanoid robotics, rather than automakers positioning the company as an AI and robotics company.
Last month, the electric vehicle maker said the board had formed a special committee to consider some compensation matters involving Musk without revealing any details.
Tesla also said it would submit an annual agent statement more than expected, as the board of directors has not yet decided on the date of the annual general meeting.
It usually submits documents a few weeks before an annual meeting.
Earlier this month, Denholm denied a report from a Wall Street journal that said board members had contacted several executive search companies in search of alternatives to replace Musk. (Reported by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Akash Sriram in Bangalore; Editors by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Savio d’Souza and Shinjini Ganguli)
