The Norway Government Pension Fund Global, which manages £1.47 trillion in assets, has announced it will vote against Elon Musk’s proposed Tesla compensation package that could award the company’s CEO shares worth up to $1 trillion. Norges Bank Investment Management, which operates the fund, said the plan “is not consistent with our views on executive compensation” and raised concerns over the size of the award, shareholder dilution, and the concentration of risk on Musk.
Musk, who is Tesla’s seventh-largest non-insider shareholder with a 1.17 per cent stake valued at £13 billion, previously faced opposition from the Norwegian fund over a €56 billion pay plan in 2018, which a Delaware judge ultimately rejected as an “unfathomable sum.” The 2018 rejection led Musk to decline an invitation from the fund’s chief executive, Nicolai Tangen, and relocate Tesla’s state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas.
The current proposal is a general stock compensation plan for all Tesla employees, with a maximum award contingent on achieving ambitious milestones, including a market valuation of $8.5 trillion, nearly six times the company’s current value. The plan could grant Musk stock valued at up to $878 billion after deducting the initial cost of the shares, and includes a requirement that he remain in a senior leadership role for at least ten years to earn the full amount. Tesla’s board, including Chair Robyn Denholm, emphasized that the plan is designed to “keep Elon’s energies focused on Tesla” amid intensifying competition for AI talent.
While Baron Capital has indicated support for the plan, other major institutional investors such as BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street have yet to disclose their voting intentions. Tesla’s board is reportedly concerned that Musk could leave the company if the package is rejected. Musk himself warned last month on X that Tesla’s extraordinary valuation relies on his leadership, stating: “Which of those CEOs would you like to run Tesla? It won’t be me.”
The vote comes as Tesla reports slowing sales in key markets. Registrations fell sharply in Sweden and Denmark last month, while China saw a 9.9 per cent year-over-year drop in Tesla sales in October, reversing a modest gain in September. Following these reports, Tesla shares dropped 3 per cent, or $14, to $454.30.
