Tesla shareholders approve Musk’s $1 trillion pay package.

Tesla shareholders on Thursday overwhelmingly endorsed a massive pay package for CEO Elon Musk that could reach $1 trillion.

The pay package — crafted to ensure Musk’s continued service to Tesla as the company pursues breakthrough technology on artificial intelligence and robotics — won more than 75 percent support from shareholders, a Tesla official said at the company’s annual meeting.

Cheers of “Elon” broke out after the vote result was announced at the gathering, which was held at the company’s factory in Austin.

Musk has emerged as a lightning rod figure, in part due to his embrace of right-wing politicians including President Donald Trump. But Thursday’s vote marked the latest demonstration of the entrepreneurial billionaire’s resonance with investors.

The package aims to ensure Musk stays at Tesla for at least seven-and-a-half years. It would lift Musk’s holding in Tesla from about 12 percent when the package was introduced in September to potentially more than 25 percent.

Musk has described Tesla’s potential growth as nearly boundless, saying in July that it “will be the most valuable company in the world by far” if it delivers on envisioned advances on autonomous driving and AI.

But Musk himself has hinted he could leave Tesla or take a back seat if his ownership share is not raised enough to give him the influence over its future that he desires.

In urging shareholders to back the proposal, Tesla Chair Robin Denholm argued keeping Musk was essential to Tesla’s future, warning the company’s stock could dive if he exited.

The board has shrugged off criticism that the billionaire’s embrace of contentious political figures has weighed on sales.

Tesla investors have been reliable Musk supporters in past votes over Musk’s pay packages, including a 2018 deal for about $55.8 billion that has repeatedly been blocked by a Delaware court in response to shareholder litigation.

Source: Vanguardngr