Elon Musk Defends $1 Tln Pay Package As Tesla Profit Slumps

(RTTNews) - At the conclusion of Tesla's earnings call, Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, criticized proxy firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis for advising against his $1 trillion compensation plan and urged investors to approve it.

During the call, Musk stated, "There must be enough voting power to have a significant impact, but not so much that I can't be fired if I lose my mind."

At Tesla's annual meeting on November 6, shareholders will vote on the proposal, which has been criticized for its enormous scale and possible diluting of shareholder value. Glass Lewis took issue with the award's structure, while ISS raised "unmitigated concerns" about its size.

Tesla's third-quarter earnings fell short of projections, even though the company delivered record numbers of cars. As tariffs increased costs by over $400 million and operating expenses increased by 50 percent to $3.4 billion, operating income decreased by 40 percent.

Following the report, shares dropped 5.7 percent on Thursday morning. This year, Tesla's stock has increased by roughly 9 percent, trailing the S&P 500's 14 percent gain.

Musk reaffirmed that he values control over Tesla's course more than monetary gain. Based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his current net worth is approximately $455 billion.