Elon Musk Derails Earnings Call to Champion $1 Trillion Payout

In a move that observers are calling “classic Musk,” Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, turned the end of a routine Tesla earnings call into a personal appeal. He commandeered the conversation, steering it away from standard financial discussion to lobby investors directly for his colossal pay package.
The subject of Musk’s passionate plea was his forthcoming $1 trillion compensation package. This massive plan is up for a crucial shareholder vote, and Musk spent the final moments of the 75-minute call arguing for its ratification. He interrupted his own Chief Financial Officer to make his case.
Musk justified the need for the package by linking it to voting control. He explained, “I just think that there needs to be enough voting control to give a strong influence.” However, he tempered this by adding he didn’t want so much power that he “can’t be fired if I go insane.”
A significant portion of his fiery remarks was aimed at shareholder advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis, which have opposed the plan. Musk blasted their “asinine recommendations,” claiming they “have no freaking clue” and are not acting in shareholders’ interests. He explicitly tied this to his discomfort with “building a robot army” only to be ousted by them.
The call, which had previously focused on Tesla’s AI, Optimus robots, and robotaxi ambitions, ended with CFO Vaibhav Taneja reinforcing the board’s position. Taneja argued the package is performance-based, benefiting Musk only if shareholders see substantial returns. The final decision rests with shareholders at the Nov. 6 annual meeting in Austin.