Tesla board threatens shareholders with Musk's departure

Austin. Tesla is increasing pressure on shareholders to approve an unprecedented stock package for CEO Elon Musk next week. Board Chairwoman Robyn Denholm warned that Musk could leave the board if the compensation plan is not approved.

The package, which will be voted on at the annual general meeting on November 6, could be worth around one trillion dollars – at least if the automaker is worth about five and a half times more on the stock market in ten years than it is now. Other prerequisites include Musk remaining at the helm of the company for the decade – as well as Tesla having one million robotaxis in operation and delivering one million AI robots.

Denholm emphasized on CNBC that Musk will come away empty-handed if Tesla fails to meet its targets. Musk himself says he's more interested in increasing his Tesla stake to 25 percent and thus securing his influence at the company than in the money. Denholm assured that, from the perspective of the Tesla board of directors, the plan offers sufficient incentive to capture Musk's attention. He had caused controversy this year with his political activity in President Donald Trump's White House.

According to Denholm, without the compensation plan, Tesla risks Musk relinquishing his management position and losing access to his "time, talent, and vision." Without Musk on board, Tesla could suffer a significant loss of stock market value because it would no longer be seen as a transformative force, she warned. Tesla has been struggling with declining sales since last year.

According to Musk, the future of the electric car pioneer lies in robotaxis and humanoid robots. He announced that the robots, called Optimus, could eventually account for 80 percent of Tesla's value.

In total, Musk could receive up to 423 million Tesla shares – in several stages, usually tied to $500 billion increments in market capitalization. In addition, there are business goals such as delivering 20 million Teslas at a market capitalization of $2 trillion. An even greater challenge is likely to be breaking the $400 billion mark in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, in addition to a $6.5 trillion market capitalization.

RND/dpa