California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers), the largest public pension plan in the United States, plans to vote against Elon Musk’s $1 trillion compensation agreement at Tesla Inc., Bloomberg reports. The pension fund described the proposed pay package as “larger than pay packages for CEOs in comparable companies by many orders of magnitude” and warned that it could further concentrate power in a single shareholder.
Calpers owns roughly 5 million shares in Tesla, giving it significant influence ahead of the key shareholder vote scheduled for Nov. 6 at the company’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas. Musk has been campaigning for investor support, using Tesla’s recent earnings call to urge backing for the plan while criticizing shareholder advisory firms that have voiced opposition.
The $1 trillion pay plan spans 10 years and is contingent on Musk meeting specific performance benchmarks. If fully realized, the package could allow Musk to acquire additional shares, potentially increasing his ownership stake in Tesla to at least 25%. The proposal represents one of the largest executive compensation packages in corporate history.
Calpers has previously opposed some of Musk’s pay packages. In 2024, the pension fund expressed opposition to a $56 billion plan, and it also opposed a 2018 agreement valued at over $50 billion. That 2018 plan was ultimately struck down by a Delaware court, although Tesla is appealing the ruling.
The pension fund’s opposition underscores growing scrutiny over Tesla’s executive compensation practices and raises questions about shareholder sentiment ahead of the upcoming vote, which could prove a significant setback for Musk’s efforts to secure the controversial pay deal.
