Musk could leave Tesla if $1 trillion pay plan is rejected

Tesla’s board warned the company risks losing Elon Musk without a new compensation package.

Ahead of the November 6 annual shareholder meeting, Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm urged investors to approve Musk’s proposed pay plan, saying it is key to keeping him as CEO for at least seven more years. She emphasized that his leadership is critical to Tesla’s ambitions in artificial intelligence and autonomous technology.

The package includes 12 tranches of stock options tied to milestones such as a market capitalization of $8.5 trillion and progress in self-driving and robotics. Tesla’s board has faced scrutiny for its close ties to Musk, and a Delaware court earlier this year struck down his previous 2018 pay deal.