SAN FRANCISCO, USA — Elon Musk says his latest multibillion-dollar compensation package, the largest in corporate history, is not about personal enrichment but about safeguarding Tesla’s future from what he called “corporate terrorists.”
Speaking during a call with investors on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, Musk said the massive stock options plan was intended to give him enough voting control to guide the electric carmaker’s strategic direction — and to prevent outside forces from influencing its leadership.
“It’s not like I’m going to go spend the money,” Musk said.
“There needs to be enough voting control to give me a strong influence — but not so much that I can’t be fired if I go insane.”
Musk lashed out at Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, two major proxy advisory firms that influence how institutional investors vote in corporate elections.
He accused them of issuing “terrible recommendations” that could harm Tesla’s future.
“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.
“They have made many terrible recommendations in the past that, if followed, would have been extremely destructive to the future of the company.”
Both firms have reportedly urged shareholders to vote against Musk’s new pay deal, though they have yet to comment on his remarks.
Musk claimed that large passive index funds, which hold substantial stakes in Tesla, often “blindly follow” the guidance of the two proxy firms. Despite his concerns, Tesla shareholders have historically sided with the company’s board.
In 2018, despite ISS and Glass Lewis opposing Musk’s earlier compensation plan, shareholders approved it with 73 percent of votes from non-family investors.
After a Delaware judge invalidated that plan this year, ruling it was not in shareholders’ best interest, Tesla put it to another vote — and it passed with 84 percent support.
The latest pay proposal could see Musk granted options to buy up to 423.7 million additional Tesla shares, contingent on the company meeting ambitious growth targets.
The options could be worth close to $1 trillion if those targets are met, potentially making Musk the world’s first trillionaire.
Currently, he owns 413 million Tesla shares outright and has been promised another 96 million conditional shares if the Delaware Supreme Court upholds an appeal against the earlier ruling that struck down his previous package.
If approved, the new deal would raise his stake to about 26 percent of Tesla’s outstanding shares — a level Musk says is necessary to maintain strategic control while still allowing shareholders to remove him if they choose.
Tesla’s board has defended the pay plan as vital to keeping Musk focused on the company’s long-term goals, amid his leadership roles at SpaceX, xAI, and X (formerly Twitter), among other ventures.
“Simply put, retaining and incentivising Elon is fundamental to Tesla achieving these goals and becoming the most valuable company in history,” the board said in its proxy filing.
Musk has hinted that without sufficient influence at Tesla, he may divert his attention to other ventures “that may afford him greater influence.”
The Delaware Supreme Court heard arguments on the pay dispute earlier this month, and a ruling is expected in the coming weeks.
For now, Musk insists the debate is about control, not cash.
“I’m not doing this for the money,” he told investors.
“It’s about ensuring that Tesla stays on the path to becoming the most important company on Earth.”
