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Lexus forces customers to make a hard decision

Lexus RZ450e as displayed at Goodwood 2022 (Credit:Lexus)

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Lexus has reported their Q3 sales stats, and its current vehicle offerings are forcing customers to make a difficult choice.

Toyota, and by extension its luxury brand, have become renowned for their adherence to hybrid vehicle technology and their opposition to electric vehicle technology as it currently stands. Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda has made it clear that the company will not be jumping into electric vehicles quickly, forcing customers to make a hard decision. Do they want one of the last gas vehicles ever made, do they want a hybrid, or do they want an EV from another brand?

Looking at Lexus’s sales stats for Q3, the brand is struggling. Compared to Q3 21, every vehicle they sell has decreased in sales. This indicates a significant challenge that consumers are facing. Customers have three main options; they may be interested in getting a gas vehicle, the last of an era. Perhaps the Lexus ISF or Lexus LC to live out their performance vehicle dreams. They may be interested in something with better gas mileage, such as one of Lexus’ countless hybrid options, the Lexus UX, ES, and RX, just to name a few. But if they are looking for something to rival their neighbor’s Tesla – something with performance, comfort, and efficiency – something electric, they will have to look elsewhere.

This difficult choice is fracturing Lexus’ typically consistent consumer base. Lexus prides itself on build quality, comfort, and a touch of performance, but they are now completely excluded from a booming electric vehicle market that threatens to eclipse them.

Hidden away on the top right of Lexus.com is one word that could save the Japanese luxury brand; “Future.” This page shows the future vehicles coming to Lexus, all of which are electric. The Lexus RZ450e is specifically highlighted and expected to be the brand’s first EV, built on the Toyota BZ4X platform that has found so much success. A vehicle that is just around the corner, “Arriving in 2023.” But for the consumers of today, that option is not yet available.

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What Lexus sales stats show more than anything is that the luxury space is more competitive than ever. Tesla has shaken the market, and many are now forced to play catch up. But this is far from a death blow to the Japanese luxury giant. When they entered the US, they were quickly able to learn from consumer interests and hence grew a following that exists to this day. The brand can do that again as they enter an electrified auto industry.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

Will is an auto enthusiast, a gear head, and an EV enthusiast above all. From racing, to industry data, to the most advanced EV tech on earth, he now covers it at Teslarati.

Elon Musk

“Take Back Tesla:” Unions and corporate watchdogs launch campaign against Musk’s 2025 pay package

A new shareholder campaign is calling for Tesla investors to vote against Elon Musk’s proposed 2025 CEO Performance Award.

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Wcamp9, CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

A new shareholder campaign is calling for Tesla investors to vote against Elon Musk’s proposed 2025 CEO Performance Award, arguing it would deepen governance risks and weaken corporate accountability.

Ahead of Tesla’s Q3 2025 earnings report, a coalition of unions and watchdogs launched the “Take Back Tesla” initiative, urging investors to reject Musk’s pay proposal at next month’s annual meeting. The plan would grant the CEO additional shares worth nearly $1 trillion over ten years, expanding his ownership stake in the company to about 25%.

Unions and watchdogs argue that Elon Musk’s proposed plan rewards distraction

The Take Back Tesla campaign is backed by groups such as the American Federation of Teachers, Public Citizen, Americans for Financial Reform, Ekō, People’s Action, and Stop the Money Pipeline. 

As could be seen on the campaign’s website, the groups are arguing that Musk’s focus on political ventures and external businesses has distracted him from leading Tesla. The group’s website called Musk’s new CEO Performance Award “outrageous” as it involves an amount of wealth that is unreachable even by today’s top executives.

“In order to unlock the full amount of shares proposed in this compensation plan, Tesla’s value would need to increase dramatically to $8.5 trillion. As Tesla’s proxy statement points out, that would make Tesla roughly 2x as valuable as the most valuable company in the world (Nvidia) today. Arguably, growing Tesla’s value to double the value of Nvidia would justify paying Musk something like double the compensation of Nvidia’s CEO. 

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“But the annual value of Musk’s trillion dollar pay package isn’t just 2 times what Nvidia’s CEO made last year (just under $50 million); it’s more than 2,000 times what Nvidia’s CEO made last year. At his current compensation of $49.9 million, it would take Nvidia’s CEO over 2,000 years to earn the amount that Elon Musk could earn, on average, per year for the next ten years,” the group argued.

Board defends package as necessary, though some pushback is present

Tesla’s board insists the compensation plan is essential to retain Musk and sustain the company’s innovation in AI, robotics, and self-driving technology. The automaker noted that previous skepticism from proxy firms such as ISS and Glass Lewis preceded a 20x rise in Tesla’s market capitalization since 2018, a feat that seemed unrealistic when it was proposed.

As noted in a CNBC report, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who oversees a $300 billion pension fund, stated that while Tesla has been a great investment, he “vociferously opposes” Elon Musk’s proposed 2025 CEO Performance Award. 

“Most of the time we’ve held Tesla stock, it has been a solid investment, it’s grown over time, and that’s why we haven’t chosen to dump it, he said, adding that he views Tesla’s Board as “insufficiently independent” since they have allowed Musk to be “absentee CEO.” Landers also argued that Tesla as a whole has failed to hit its targets when it comes to its Robotaxi program and its Full Self-Driving technology.

For context, Elon Musk has maintained that his 2025 CEO Performance Award is not designed for him to gather even more wealth. Instead, he stressed that it is required so that he could take a controlling stake in the company.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla Q3 2025 earnings: What analysts expect

The automaker delivered a record 497,099 vehicles and logged its highest-ever energy storage sales in Q3 2025. 

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Q3 2025 earnings, which would be released after markets close today, could prove to be a test of confidence for the company’s shareholders. 

The automaker delivered a record 497,099 vehicles and logged its highest-ever energy storage sales, but analysts noted that these gains might have come at a cost. 

Record vehicle deliveries

Tesla’s profit per share is expected to fall about 25% year over year to around $0.53–$0.55, even as revenue rises from 4% to 6%, as noted in a report from Market Pulse. Analysts noted that Tesla’s record quarter was partly fueled by buyers rushing to complete purchases before the U.S. federal EV tax credit expired in September, a surge that could dampen Q4 demand. The company also dipped into its inventory to reach the record delivery number.

Analysts expect automotive gross margin (excluding regulatory credits) to land between a conservative 16.5% and 17%. This suggests that a good portion of Tesla’s Q3 delivery growth came from aggressive price cuts. If margins fall below 16.5%, it could hint at more cost pressures that the company would have to handle in the coming months.

Tesla’s Energy segment, meanwhile, is expected to act as a stabilizer. The business deployed 12.5 GWh of storage in Q3, driven by strong demand from AI data centers. Analysts expect this high-margin division to partially cushion the hit from the automaker’s thinner car profits.

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AI, FSD, and Musk’s role

Tesla’s lofty valuation, trading about 17% above the average analyst consensus of $365, would likely depend heavily on investor belief in its AI and robotics initiatives. Industry watchers have stated that management must deliver credible updates on Full Self-Driving and the Robotaxi program to help justify the company’s current valuation.

Elon Musk’s proposed 2025 CEO Performance Award, which proxy advisors have urged shareholders to reject, would likely be discussed in the Q3 2025 earnings call has well. Musk has hinted that a failed vote could jeopardize Tesla’s AI strategy, making the company’s upcoming results quite crucial for market confidence.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla Board Chair defends Elon Musk’s pay plan, slams proxy advisors

The letter comes ahead of Tesla’s 2025 Annual Meeting, where shareholders will vote on several key proposals.

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CeBIT Australia, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm has issued a strongly worded letter urging investors to reject the latest recommendations from proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis, saying their “one-size-fits-all” approach fails to recognize Tesla’s unique business model and track record. 

The letter comes ahead of Tesla’s 2025 Annual Meeting, where shareholders will vote on several key proposals including Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award and director reelections.

Tesla slams proxy advisors’ models

Denholm criticized both firms for consistently opposing Tesla’s growth-oriented plans, noting that the company’s market capitalization has increased twentyfold since shareholders approved Musk’s 2018 performance package, which both advisors had opposed at the time. 

“Our shareholders have ignored their recommendations, and it’s a good thing they did,” she wrote. “Otherwise, you may have missed out on our market capitalization soaring 20x while the proxy advisors time and time again recommended “against” Tesla proposals designed to promote the sort of extraordinary growth we have enjoyed.”

The letter argued that Glass Lewis and ISS use robotic policies that don’t account for Tesla’s innovation-driven structure. Tesla’s leadership maintained that the 2025 CEO Performance Award will only reward Musk if he achieves extraordinary market capitalization and operational goals. The plan, Denholm stated, aligns Musk’s incentives with long-term shareholder interests.

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Tesla defends board leadership

Denholm also defended directors Ira Ehrenpreis and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, calling them pivotal to Tesla’s governance and innovation strategy. She said both have driven Tesla’s growth and helped design compensation systems vital to competing in the AI and robotics talent race.

She warned that following ISS and Glass Lewis could turn Tesla into “just another car company,” and urged shareholders to “vote yes to robots, and reject robotic voting.” The letter also highlighted that neither ISS nor Glass Lewis owns Tesla stock, emphasizing that only shareholders “who have made an actual financial investment” should decide the company’s direction.

“If you prefer that Tesla turn into just another car company mired in the ways of the past, then you should follow ISS and Glass Lewis. If you believe that Tesla, under the visionary leadership of Elon and the oversight of a Board that includes business leaders with integrity like Ira, Kathleen and Joe, then you should vote with Tesla,” Denholm wrote.

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