Tesla approves trillion-dollar pay package for Musk
Tesla boss Elon Musk is set to receive a huge share package worth 1,000 billion dollars after shareholders in the US electric car manufacturer voted in favour of a ten-year pay package for Musk which is conditional on his achieving several ambitious goals for the company. What are the implications when the richest person in the world becomes far richer?
Implausible as a work incentive
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung finds the trillion-dollar pay deal incomprehensible:
“This remuneration is neither necessary nor proportionate. ... A single company boss should not have to be kept happy with a trillion dollars. It is doubtful whether this incentive is even necessary. Musk already holds 15 percent of Tesla's shares and has a major financial interest in the company's success. In August, he was awarded a provisional share-based pay deal worth 30 billion dollars to encourage him to stay with the company. And to make the company fit for the future and realign it with AI and self-driving cars. It's implausible that he needs another financial incentive to be motivated to perform for the company.”
Prophet Elon's technology church
The bonus decision underscores an unswerving belief in progress, says Trends-Tendances:
“This vote says it all: Musk is not just the boss of Tesla, he has become its religion, or at least its prophet. Because let's face it: he has already performed miracles. He has made the electric car an object of desire. He has launched reusable rockets with SpaceX. He is now tackling the human brain with Neuralink. Where others buy market share, he is buying shares in the future. ... This trillion-dollar plan is not just about money. It's about faith in progress. Elon Musk embodies the idea that technology can still save, fascinate and unite us. As long as the markets continue to believe this, Tesla will not just be a brand: it will be a church of the future, where faith and profit go hand in hand.”
A threat to state and society
Such an enormous sum is also a political issue, Der Tagesspiegel fumes:
“Time and again we hear how massive income inequalities are eroding social cohesion. There's a major disconnect and it is jeopardising the peaceful constitution of entire states. In addition, the billions that have been accumulated in private capital are not subject to any controls whatsoever. What and whom will Musk & Co. buy with their many billions? Who knows, who can monitor it? Entire decision-making processes can be manipulated in this way, without any state, democratic or legal checks. In this way mega-capital is creating a parallel world order. Nobody can want that.”
Time for a super income tax
A tax rate of 90 percent on such mega-incomes could nip the debate about Musk in the bud, writes economist Ricardo Reis in Expresso:
“It should be borne in mind that taking most of that money away from him could help millions of people who need it more. ... It would be entirely legitimate to do this through the tax system and let Tesla shareholders and Elon Musk do what they want with their private contracts. ... This would be perfectly compatible with the principles of capitalism, liberalism or social democracy. It is within this framework that the public debate about Musk's contract should take place.”