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How Tesla shareholders are voting on Musk’s 2018 pay package

Credit: Andrea Conway/X

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Tesla investors currently have the chance to vote on a number of proposals for the company’s upcoming shareholder’s meeting, with CEO Elon Musk’s 2018 pay package hanging in the balance after it was struck down by a Delaware judge. In recent weeks, a number of Teslarati readers have shared how they voted or plan to vote on the proposal, with about a month left to go until the meeting.

After Delaware Judge Kathaleen McCormick voided the previously approved $56 billion pay package for Musk in January, both Musk and the company have appealed the decision, and the board of directors has launched a vote on ratifying the package for the stockholder’s meeting next month. Voting has been open for the past few weeks, and following our recent story detailing one of Tesla’s largest shareholders as he criticized Musk and suggested voting “no” on the measure, many have said they voted in favor of the proposal.

Tesla also launched a website dedicated to explaining how shareholders can vote, and detailing the board’s voting recommendations. Crucially, the board has recommended “yes” votes on both proposals three and four, which concern Tesla’s potential move to re-incorporate in Texas instead of Delaware, and the pay package vote for Musk, respectively.

The annual shareholder’s meeting will be held on June 13, and shareholders can continue to vote on the proposals between now and then. Tesla has also shared a video on social media encouraging investors to vote in favor of this, and the company’s incorporation move from Delaware to Texas.

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How Teslarati readers are voting on Musk’s 2018 pay package (so far)

Following our recent stories, 88 respondents have reached out and told us how they were voting, or planned to vote, on proposal three regarding Musk’s previously approved pay package. Of them, about 66 percent said they had voted or would vote in favor of ratifying Musk’s 2018 compensation plan, while around 30 percent said they voted or would vote against it. The remaining respondents, representing just over 3 percent, said that they were still undecided on the vote.

Those who responded varied in their number of shares; while most did not include how many shares they were voting for, others ranged from having just a few shares to over 7,000 shares.

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To be sure, this is an extremely small sample size, especially given the sheer number of shareholders and Tesla shares out there. This also does not take into consideration the number of shares owned by each respondent, though it gives a small overview of how individual Tesla shareholders (who took the time to respond to recent stories) voted on proposal three. In addition, shareholders still have a few weeks left to cast their votes, and many could still be mulling over their vote on the proposal.

The board explains its recommendation for shareholders to vote “yes” by citing the fact that Musk already performed the work needed to earn the previously approved pay package. Some have noted that the CEO isn’t currently being paid for his past several years with the company, as a result of the package being struck down. Others have criticized Musk and Tesla for recent layoffs and his sharing of political views, which they say is why they would vote “no” on the proposal.

“Elon has not been paid for any of his work for Tesla for the past six years… That strikes us, and the many stockholders from whom we already have heard, as fundamentally unfair,” wrote Board Chair Robyn Denholm on the subject last month.

“We do not think that what the Delaware Court said is how corporate law should or does work. If it is legally advisable, we suggest simply subjecting the original 2018 package to a new shareholder vote.”

Musk also defended his pay package following the January decision, as well as his hopes for more voting control amidst the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) products.

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Note: This article will be updated periodically up until Tesla’s Annual Stockholder Meeting on June 13. Last updated 6/4/24.

Musk responds to pay case lawyers requesting $6 billion in Tesla shares

 

What are your thoughts? Have you voted on proposal three of the upcoming meeting, and if so, how did you vote? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state

On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in.

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Tesla has officially landed approval to operate its Robotaxi ride-hailing service in its third U.S. state, as it has landed a regulatory green light from the State of Arizona’s Department of Transportation.

Tesla has been working to expand to new U.S. states after launching in Texas and California earlier this year. Recently, it said it was hoping to land in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, expanding to five new cities in those three states.

On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in:

Tesla has also been working on approvals in Nevada and Florida, and it has also had Robotaxi test mules spotted in Pennsylvania.

The interesting thing about the Arizona approval is the fact that Tesla has not received an approval for any specific city; it appears that it can operate statewide. However, early on, Tesla will likely confine its operation to just one or two cities to keep things safe and controlled.

Over the past few months, Robotaxi mules have been spotted in portions of Phoenix and surrounding cities, such as Scottsdale, as the company has been attempting to cross off all the regulatory Ts that it is confronted with as it attempts to expand the ride-hailing service.

It appears the company will be operating it similarly to how it does in Texas, which differs from its California program. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat, unless the route requires freeway travel. In California, there is always a Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat. However, this is unconfirmed.

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Earlier today, Tesla enabled its Robotaxi app to be utilized for ride-hailing for anyone using the iOS platform.

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Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride

We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.

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Credit: u/ohmichael on Reddit

A Tesla Robotaxi Safety Monitor appeared to doze off during a ride in the California Bay Area, almost ironically proving the need for autonomous vehicles.

The instance was captured on camera and posted to Reddit in the r/sanfrancisco subreddit by u/ohmichael. They wrote that they have used Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area in the past and had pleasant experiences.

However, this one was slightly different. They wrote:

“I took a Tesla Robotaxi in SF just over a week ago. I have used the service a few times before and it has always been great. I actually felt safer than in a regular rideshare.

This time was different. The safety driver literally fell asleep at least three times during the ride. Each time the car’s pay attention safety alert went off and the beeping is what woke him back up.

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I reported it through the app to the Robotaxi support team and told them I had videos, but I never got a response.

I held off on posting anything because I wanted to give Tesla a chance to respond privately. It has been more than a week now and this feels like a serious issue for other riders too.

Has anyone else seen this happen?”

My Tesla Robotaxi “safety” driver fell asleep
byu/ohmichael insanfrancisco

The driver eventually woke up after prompts from the vehicle, but it is pretty alarming to see someone like this while they’re ultimately responsible for what happens with the ride.

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We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.

They should have probably left the vehicle immediately.

Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area differs from the one that is currently active in Austin, Texas, due to local regulations. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat unless the route requires the highway.

Tesla plans to remove the Safety Monitors in Austin by the end of the year.

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Tesla opens Robotaxi access to everyone — but there’s one catch

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially opened Robotaxi access to everyone and everyone, but there is one catch: you have to have an iPhone.

Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin and its ride-hailing service in the Bay Area were both officially launched to the public today, giving anyone using the iOS platform the ability to simply download the app and utilize it for a ride in either of those locations.

It has been in operation for several months: it launched in Austin in late June and in the Bay Area about a month later. In Austin, there is nobody in the driver’s seat unless the route takes you on the freeway.

In the Bay Area, there is someone in the driver’s seat at all times.

The platform was initially launched to those who were specifically invited to Austin to try it out.

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Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.

Slowly, Tesla launched the platform to more people, hoping to expand the number of rides and get more valuable data on its performance in both regions to help local regulatory agencies relax some of the constraints that were placed on it.

Additionally, Tesla had its own in-house restrictions, like the presence of Safety Monitors in the vehicles. However, CEO Elon Musk has maintained that these monitors were present for safety reasons specifically, but revealed the plan was to remove them by the end of the year.

Now, Tesla is opening up Robotaxi to anyone who wants to try it, as many people reported today that they were able to access the app and immediately fetch a ride if they were in the area.

We also confirmed it ourselves, as it was shown that we could grab a ride in the Bay Area if we wanted to:

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The launch of a more public Robotaxi network that allows anyone to access it seems to be a serious move of confidence by Tesla, as it is no longer confining the service to influencers who are handpicked by the company.

In the coming weeks, we expect Tesla to then rid these vehicles of the Safety Monitors as Musk predicted. If it can come through on that by the end of the year, the six-month period where Tesla went from launching Robotaxi to enabling driverless rides is incredibly impressive.

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