Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, spent the conclusion of Tesla Inc.’s earnings call appealing to investors to approve his forthcoming $1 trillion pay package, Bloomberg reports, while sharply criticizing shareholder advisory firms opposing the plan.
“I just think that there needs to be enough voting control to give a strong influence,” Musk said after the 75-minute call. “But not so much that I can’t be fired if I go insane.”
The call, which largely focused on Tesla’s AI initiatives, Optimus robots, and the planned robotaxi service, took a dramatic turn at the end as Musk addressed concerns from proxy advisory services ISS and Glass Lewis. “I just don’t feel comfortable building a robot army here and then being ousted because of some asinine recommendations from ISS and Glass Lewis who have no freaking clue,” he said.
Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer, Vaibhav Taneja, added that the board committee designing the pay package structured it so Musk only benefits if shareholders realize substantial returns. He urged shareholders repeatedly to vote in favor of the plan.
Shareholders will cast their votes on the compensation package at Tesla’s annual meeting on November 6 in Austin.
