Musk: I Need $1T Pay Package to Run ‘Robot Army’

Elon Musk ended Tesla’s earnings call Wednesday with a fiery outburst over his proposed $1 trillion compensation plan, blasting corporate advisers for trying to block it and warning shareholders that his future with the company could be in jeopardy.

Musk rejected claims that the plan is merely about personal compensation, insisting the real issue is whether he’ll retain enough voting power to guide Tesla’s push into artificial intelligence, robotaxis, and humanoid robots — technologies he says could one day free humanity from the need to work.

“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,” Musk said, referring to the influential proxy advisory firms that have urged shareholders to reject the deal.

Musk said he wants to hold about “mid-20s” percent of Tesla’s voting shares — enough to ensure “strong influence” over the company’s direction but not so much as to make him “untouchable if I go insane.”

Tesla’s leadership is urging shareholders to approve the record-breaking compensation package, which could grant Musk up to $1 trillion in stock over the next decade if he achieves massive performance goals. Those targets include an $8.5 trillion market capitalization, major expansion in electric vehicles, robotaxis, and humanoid robots, and a surge in annual profits from $16.6 billion to $400 billion.

If approved, the package could double Musk’s stake in Tesla to nearly 29%, solidifying his position as one of the most powerful figures in global business. The board has warned that rejecting the deal might prompt Musk to scale back or even walk away from Tesla altogether.

While proxy firms ISS and Glass Lewis continue to oppose the plan, prominent supporters such as Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood predict that shareholders will approve it easily.

After the call, Musk took to X to renew his criticism of the proxy advisers, accusing them of having outsized influence and making decisions “along random political lines.” He also called for tighter government regulation, saying the firms should be registered as investment advisers.

(Tesla’s quarterly profits dropped sharply in the latest earnings report.)

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