In a dramatic move, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund—the world’s largest and a major Tesla shareholder—announced it will vote against Elon Musk’s proposed $1 trillion compensation package ahead of the company’s upcoming shareholder meeting. The fund cited concerns about the staggering size of the award, potential dilution of existing shareholders, and what it called Musk’s unchecked “key person risk”—a scenario where one individual’s decisions dominate the company’s fate.
The fund, now Tesla’s seventh‑largest investor with a 1.12 % stake worth approximately $17 billion, has a long history of resisting Musk’s massive pay deals. Officials noted they “appreciate the significant value created under Mr. Musk’s visionary role,” but emphasized that the proposed compensation conflicts with their principles on executive pay—namely that rewards should align with measurable value, dilute minimally, and not grant excessive power to a single individual.
Under the terms of the plan, Musk stands to receive hundreds of billions in Tesla shares if he hits ambitious targets: growing Tesla’s market capitalization to $8.5 trillion, selling a million Optimus robots, and out‑earning tech giants like Meta and Google. Musk’s victory might make him the first person with a $2 trillion net worth, catalyzing not only wealth milestones but shareholder governance alarm bells.
The opposition is growing. Key proxy advisory firms such as Glass Lewis and ISS have recommended voting against the deal, and large pension funds including CalPERS and the New York State Retirement Fund have voiced objections. Not all investors are aligned, however—Florida’s State Board of Administration and ARK Invest remain supportive, and the voting plans of Tesla’s largest shareholders, BlackRock and Vanguard Group, are still undisclosed.
The coming vote—scheduled for November 6—has become a key governance indicator for Tesla and the broader corporate world. Beyond Musk, it will signal how far a corporation is willing to go in paying for ambition and whether investors are starting to draw the line at even seemingly extraordinary success stories.
