Wealth fund opposes Musk’s $56b package

OSLO:

Norway’s $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund said on Saturday it will vote against ratifying Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package, which is up for a shareholder vote next week, after a Delaware judge invalidated it earlier this year.

The fund is Tesla’s eighth-biggest shareholder, according to LSEG data.

Musk’s pay, the largest for a chief executive in corporate America, was approved in 2018, but voided by a judge earlier this year, who said the amount was unfair to shareholders, calling it an “unfathomable sum”.

The fund said it appreciated “the significant value generated under Musk’s leadership since the grant date in 2018”.

Still, “we remain concerned about the total size of the award, the structure given performance triggers, dilution, and lack of mitigation of key person risk,” Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the operator of the fund, said.

In 2018, the fund had voted against the package. “We will continue to seek constructive dialogue with Tesla on this and other topics,” NBIM added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2024.

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