Tesla Board Chair Calls Debate Over Elon Musk’s $1T Pay Package ‘A Little Bit Weird’

With Tesla shareholders preparing to vote in November on a 10-year, $1 trillion compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk, board chair Robyn Denholm defended what would be the largest pay package in corporate history in an interview with The New York Times.

Denholm, who served on the special committee that designed the proposal, said Musk should be incentivized by “extraordinary challenges” that require “extraordinary compensation.” However, she emphasized that Musk is less focused on personal wealth and more interested in the voting power tied to the Tesla shares.

“I think it’s a little bit weird talking about the dollars when it’s actually the voting influence,” Denholm said, with The Times noting she appeared “occasionally ill at ease” during the conversation.

The timing of the proposal has raised eyebrows, given that Tesla’s profits and vehicle sales are currently declining. Denholm, however, maintained that the package is about the company’s long-term outlook.

“It’s not about past performance,” she explained. “He gets nothing if he doesn’t perform against the goals.”