Tesla CEO Elon Musk is facing renewed opposition to his massive compensation plan after Glass Lewis, one of the world's leading proxy advisory firms, urged shareholders to vote against the company's proposed $1 trillion pay package.
The recommendation adds to mounting pressure on Tesla's board just weeks before its November 6 shareholder meeting.
The latest development follows a similar call from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which also advised investors to reject the proposal, calling it excessive and misaligned with shareholder interests.
The move comes months after a Delaware court struck down Musk's earlier $56 billion pay package, saying the process that approved it was unfair, Reuters said.
In its report, Glass Lewis said the new pay plan could significantly reduce shareholder value and raised "serious concern" about its structure and potential impact.
The firm noted that Musk could still receive tens of billions of dollars even if he fails to meet most of the company's ambitious performance goals, thanks to the plan's partial-reward system tied to Tesla's stock performance.
Tesla, however, strongly disagreed with the recommendation. In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), the company said, "Glass Lewis has followed ISS in issuing another misguided recommendation that disregards the fundamental purpose of public companies and who they serve — the shareholders."
⚡Proxy adviser ISS urges Tesla shareholders to reject Elon Musk's $1 trillion pay package ahead of Nov 6 vote pic.twitter.com/b7Brd2103q
— Niranjan Ghatule (@NiranjanGhatule) October 20, 2025
Tesla Says Ignoring Critics Led to 20x Growth
The automaker added that shareholders who had previously ignored such recommendations "may have missed out on our market capitalization soaring by 20 times from March 2018 to August 2025," emphasizing Musk's role in Tesla's rapid growth.
According to Investing, both Glass Lewis and ISS had also advised against Musk's earlier $56 billion package, describing it as "excessive."
Despite that, Musk's leadership has coincided with Tesla's rise to become one of the most valuable car companies in the world, largely driven by its dominance in electric vehicles and clean energy innovations.
The current proposal, which Tesla's board describes as the largest corporate pay package in history, ties Musk's compensation to performance goals such as production targets, profitability milestones, and continued stock price growth.
The plan also seeks to address Musk's push for greater control and retention amid his growing involvement in ventures like SpaceX, X (Twitter), and xAI.
Glass Lewis further recommended that shareholders oppose Tesla's potential investment in Musk's AI startup, xAI, arguing that such decisions should be left to the board rather than put to a shareholder vote.
Originally published on vcpost.com
