特斯拉投資者正游說(shuō)其他人駁回史上最高薪酬計(jì)劃。
包括紐約市養(yǎng)老基金在內(nèi)的團(tuán)體近日提交了一份公告,敦促其他人在6月13日的特斯拉股東大會(huì)上投票反對(duì)首席執(zhí)行官埃隆·馬斯克價(jià)值460億美元的股票期權(quán)方案。紐約市主計(jì)長(zhǎng)布拉德-蘭德正在發(fā)起這項(xiàng)倡議。他在管理著2600億美元資產(chǎn)的紐約市養(yǎng)老基金中擔(dān)任投資顧問(wèn)。
根據(jù)他簽署的信件,特斯拉董事會(huì)“過(guò)度聽(tīng)命于”馬斯克,當(dāng)馬斯克忽視特斯拉而專(zhuān)注于他在Boring Company、Neuralink、SpaceX、X和其他公司的角色時(shí),董事會(huì)也沒(méi)有費(fèi)心介入。投資者抱怨馬斯克每天只專(zhuān)注于一家公司的事務(wù),把有限的時(shí)間分配給了不同的公司。投資者表示:“董事會(huì)尚未保證特斯拉有一位全職首席執(zhí)行官?!?/p>
與此同時(shí),他還從特斯拉挖走關(guān)鍵人才。投資者在信中寫(xiě)道:“最近,馬斯克開(kāi)始從特斯拉的人工智能和自動(dòng)駕駛團(tuán)隊(duì)中挖走頂級(jí)工程師,為他的新公司xAI服務(wù),其中包括曾在特斯拉擔(dān)任計(jì)算機(jī)視覺(jué)主管的伊?!つ翁?。”
這份公告預(yù)示著特斯拉的一些養(yǎng)老基金投資者將在下個(gè)月攤牌:其中一些養(yǎng)老基金投資者認(rèn)為,他們?yōu)橐晃患媛毷紫瘓?zhí)行官支付了過(guò)高的薪酬,而這家電動(dòng)汽車(chē)制造商的散戶(hù)投資者則認(rèn)為,馬斯克是一位有遠(yuǎn)見(jiàn)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者,必須不惜一切代價(jià)將他留在特斯拉。關(guān)鍵在于股東是否投票批準(zhǔn)馬斯克的薪酬計(jì)劃(目前價(jià)值約460億美元),該計(jì)劃今年1月被一名法官駁回。特斯拉在春季第二次提出了薪酬計(jì)劃,并對(duì)該提案表示支持。
馬斯克通過(guò)發(fā)推感謝散戶(hù)的投票支持,并通過(guò)特斯拉的廣告宣傳推動(dòng)散戶(hù)投票支持其薪酬計(jì)劃,贏得了散戶(hù)投資者的支持。自4月29日以來(lái),特斯拉已經(jīng)11次通知投資者:馬斯克發(fā)推公布了關(guān)于此次會(huì)議的消息,或特斯拉已經(jīng)更新了專(zhuān)門(mén)用于投票的網(wǎng)站,標(biāo)題為“保護(hù)您的投資和特斯拉的未來(lái)”。
根據(jù)持不同意見(jiàn)的投資者[包括美國(guó)合并銀行(Amalgamated Bank)、AkademikerPension和SOC Investment Group]的說(shuō)法,馬斯克對(duì)股價(jià)構(gòu)成了關(guān)鍵風(fēng)險(xiǎn),因?yàn)樗褜⒊钟械?0%特斯拉股份的一部分作為貸款抵押品。投資者在信中寫(xiě)道:“如果馬斯克被迫出售他質(zhì)押的股票,可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致股價(jià)大幅下跌,從而損害股東的利益?!?/p>
此外,投資者認(rèn)為,董事會(huì)放任不管意味著馬斯克將特斯拉視為自己和其他企業(yè)的“金庫(kù)”。信中稱(chēng),馬斯克承認(rèn)利用特斯拉工程師解決X[前身為推特(Twitter)]的問(wèn)題,并辯稱(chēng),“沒(méi)有任何特斯拉董事會(huì)成員阻止他利用特斯拉員工為其旗下其他公司從事相關(guān)工作”。投資者表示,“分心”是特斯拉相對(duì)于標(biāo)準(zhǔn)普爾500指數(shù)、通用汽車(chē)(General Motors)和福特汽車(chē)(Ford)表現(xiàn)不佳的重要原因。
然而,特斯拉董事會(huì)卻不這么認(rèn)為。特斯拉為支持其薪酬批準(zhǔn)投票而建立的網(wǎng)站提供了投票說(shuō)明和其他有關(guān)股東大會(huì)的信息,包括一段獨(dú)立董事會(huì)主席羅賓·德霍姆的視頻。德霍姆在視頻中表示,馬斯克的薪酬計(jì)劃是在10年前制定的,目標(biāo)是如此“遙不可及和雄心勃勃,以至于懷疑論者嘲笑這一目標(biāo)不切實(shí)際”。
德霍姆說(shuō):“如果埃隆沒(méi)有實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo),就無(wú)權(quán)領(lǐng)取薪水、現(xiàn)金獎(jiǎng)金和股權(quán)。但如果他能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)這一目標(biāo),您和所有其他股東都將從中獲益。這一獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)發(fā)揮作用了。在5年的時(shí)間里,公司營(yíng)收從118億美元增長(zhǎng)到968億美元,利潤(rùn)從虧損22億美元變成了盈利150億美元?!?/p>
事實(shí)上,2018年批準(zhǔn)馬斯克天價(jià)薪酬計(jì)劃的投票取得成功的關(guān)鍵原因之一是,其利害關(guān)系與其他首席執(zhí)行官截然不同。如果馬斯克沒(méi)有達(dá)到目標(biāo),特斯拉董事會(huì)不向其支付任何薪酬,而不是采用所謂的“董事會(huì)自由裁量權(quán)”,即公司董事仍向未能達(dá)到財(cái)務(wù)指標(biāo)的首席執(zhí)行官支付薪酬。
通常情況下,董事會(huì)會(huì)告訴投資者,他們不想讓首席執(zhí)行官或高管們?yōu)榻?jīng)濟(jì)逆風(fēng)或其他不可控因素導(dǎo)致其未能實(shí)現(xiàn)既定的財(cái)務(wù)目標(biāo)或指標(biāo)負(fù)責(zé)。不過(guò),董事會(huì)必須在自由裁量權(quán)與留住高管和首席執(zhí)行官之間取得平衡。只有在極端情況下,首席執(zhí)行官才會(huì)因?yàn)殚L(zhǎng)期獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)而不拿任何薪酬——除了沒(méi)有薪水、現(xiàn)金獎(jiǎng)金或基于時(shí)間行權(quán)的股票之外——原因是失去高管和破壞公司穩(wěn)定的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)太高了。
讓馬斯克的薪酬計(jì)劃變得復(fù)雜的是,投資者可能看到了特斯拉未來(lái)面臨的問(wèn)題,而董事會(huì)似乎專(zhuān)注于為馬斯克過(guò)去實(shí)現(xiàn)的目標(biāo)支付薪酬。此外,馬斯克的巨額薪酬,以及特斯拉今年的業(yè)績(jī)不佳的事實(shí),都增加了問(wèn)題的復(fù)雜性。該公司宣布將裁員10%,甚至取消暑期實(shí)習(xí)項(xiàng)目,而與此同時(shí),該公司卻在投入資源恢復(fù)馬斯克的天價(jià)薪酬計(jì)劃。眾所周知,馬斯克本人無(wú)視大多數(shù)上市公司首席執(zhí)行官遵守的準(zhǔn)則,看起來(lái)行事沖動(dòng),發(fā)推也不考慮后果,而且不與董事會(huì)中的獨(dú)立董事商議,這讓投資者憂(yōu)心忡忡。
除了批準(zhǔn)馬斯克的薪酬計(jì)劃,特斯拉還在尋求投資者批準(zhǔn),將公司注冊(cè)地從特拉華州遷至德克薩斯州,這一改變似乎是受到特拉華州法官對(duì)馬斯克薪酬的裁決的推動(dòng)。投票網(wǎng)站稱(chēng)“特拉華州法院已經(jīng)表明,它將無(wú)視我們股東的意愿。我們相信股東的權(quán)利,也相信德州法院會(huì)尊重我們的權(quán)利?!?/p>
除了召集其他投資者投票否決馬斯克的薪酬外,持不同意見(jiàn)的團(tuán)體還要求股東們拒絕支持馬斯克的弟弟金巴爾·馬斯克和前二十一世紀(jì)??怂梗?1st Century Fox)首席執(zhí)行官詹姆斯·默多克連任。金巴爾已在董事會(huì)任職20年,而默多克是馬斯克的朋友。投資者們表示,這兩人都不是真正的獨(dú)立董事。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
特斯拉投資者正游說(shuō)其他人駁回史上最高薪酬計(jì)劃。
包括紐約市養(yǎng)老基金在內(nèi)的團(tuán)體近日提交了一份公告,敦促其他人在6月13日的特斯拉股東大會(huì)上投票反對(duì)首席執(zhí)行官埃隆·馬斯克價(jià)值460億美元的股票期權(quán)方案。紐約市主計(jì)長(zhǎng)布拉德-蘭德正在發(fā)起這項(xiàng)倡議。他在管理著2600億美元資產(chǎn)的紐約市養(yǎng)老基金中擔(dān)任投資顧問(wèn)。
根據(jù)他簽署的信件,特斯拉董事會(huì)“過(guò)度聽(tīng)命于”馬斯克,當(dāng)馬斯克忽視特斯拉而專(zhuān)注于他在Boring Company、Neuralink、SpaceX、X和其他公司的角色時(shí),董事會(huì)也沒(méi)有費(fèi)心介入。投資者抱怨馬斯克每天只專(zhuān)注于一家公司的事務(wù),把有限的時(shí)間分配給了不同的公司。投資者表示:“董事會(huì)尚未保證特斯拉有一位全職首席執(zhí)行官?!?/p>
與此同時(shí),他還從特斯拉挖走關(guān)鍵人才。投資者在信中寫(xiě)道:“最近,馬斯克開(kāi)始從特斯拉的人工智能和自動(dòng)駕駛團(tuán)隊(duì)中挖走頂級(jí)工程師,為他的新公司xAI服務(wù),其中包括曾在特斯拉擔(dān)任計(jì)算機(jī)視覺(jué)主管的伊?!つ翁??!?/p>
這份公告預(yù)示著特斯拉的一些養(yǎng)老基金投資者將在下個(gè)月攤牌:其中一些養(yǎng)老基金投資者認(rèn)為,他們?yōu)橐晃患媛毷紫瘓?zhí)行官支付了過(guò)高的薪酬,而這家電動(dòng)汽車(chē)制造商的散戶(hù)投資者則認(rèn)為,馬斯克是一位有遠(yuǎn)見(jiàn)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者,必須不惜一切代價(jià)將他留在特斯拉。關(guān)鍵在于股東是否投票批準(zhǔn)馬斯克的薪酬計(jì)劃(目前價(jià)值約460億美元),該計(jì)劃今年1月被一名法官駁回。特斯拉在春季第二次提出了薪酬計(jì)劃,并對(duì)該提案表示支持。
馬斯克通過(guò)發(fā)推感謝散戶(hù)的投票支持,并通過(guò)特斯拉的廣告宣傳推動(dòng)散戶(hù)投票支持其薪酬計(jì)劃,贏得了散戶(hù)投資者的支持。自4月29日以來(lái),特斯拉已經(jīng)11次通知投資者:馬斯克發(fā)推公布了關(guān)于此次會(huì)議的消息,或特斯拉已經(jīng)更新了專(zhuān)門(mén)用于投票的網(wǎng)站,標(biāo)題為“保護(hù)您的投資和特斯拉的未來(lái)”。
根據(jù)持不同意見(jiàn)的投資者[包括美國(guó)合并銀行(Amalgamated Bank)、AkademikerPension和SOC Investment Group]的說(shuō)法,馬斯克對(duì)股價(jià)構(gòu)成了關(guān)鍵風(fēng)險(xiǎn),因?yàn)樗褜⒊钟械?0%特斯拉股份的一部分作為貸款抵押品。投資者在信中寫(xiě)道:“如果馬斯克被迫出售他質(zhì)押的股票,可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致股價(jià)大幅下跌,從而損害股東的利益。”
此外,投資者認(rèn)為,董事會(huì)放任不管意味著馬斯克將特斯拉視為自己和其他企業(yè)的“金庫(kù)”。信中稱(chēng),馬斯克承認(rèn)利用特斯拉工程師解決X[前身為推特(Twitter)]的問(wèn)題,并辯稱(chēng),“沒(méi)有任何特斯拉董事會(huì)成員阻止他利用特斯拉員工為其旗下其他公司從事相關(guān)工作”。投資者表示,“分心”是特斯拉相對(duì)于標(biāo)準(zhǔn)普爾500指數(shù)、通用汽車(chē)(General Motors)和福特汽車(chē)(Ford)表現(xiàn)不佳的重要原因。
然而,特斯拉董事會(huì)卻不這么認(rèn)為。特斯拉為支持其薪酬批準(zhǔn)投票而建立的網(wǎng)站提供了投票說(shuō)明和其他有關(guān)股東大會(huì)的信息,包括一段獨(dú)立董事會(huì)主席羅賓·德霍姆的視頻。德霍姆在視頻中表示,馬斯克的薪酬計(jì)劃是在10年前制定的,目標(biāo)是如此“遙不可及和雄心勃勃,以至于懷疑論者嘲笑這一目標(biāo)不切實(shí)際”。
德霍姆說(shuō):“如果埃隆沒(méi)有實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo),就無(wú)權(quán)領(lǐng)取薪水、現(xiàn)金獎(jiǎng)金和股權(quán)。但如果他能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)這一目標(biāo),您和所有其他股東都將從中獲益。這一獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)發(fā)揮作用了。在5年的時(shí)間里,公司營(yíng)收從118億美元增長(zhǎng)到968億美元,利潤(rùn)從虧損22億美元變成了盈利150億美元?!?/p>
事實(shí)上,2018年批準(zhǔn)馬斯克天價(jià)薪酬計(jì)劃的投票取得成功的關(guān)鍵原因之一是,其利害關(guān)系與其他首席執(zhí)行官截然不同。如果馬斯克沒(méi)有達(dá)到目標(biāo),特斯拉董事會(huì)不向其支付任何薪酬,而不是采用所謂的“董事會(huì)自由裁量權(quán)”,即公司董事仍向未能達(dá)到財(cái)務(wù)指標(biāo)的首席執(zhí)行官支付薪酬。
通常情況下,董事會(huì)會(huì)告訴投資者,他們不想讓首席執(zhí)行官或高管們?yōu)榻?jīng)濟(jì)逆風(fēng)或其他不可控因素導(dǎo)致其未能實(shí)現(xiàn)既定的財(cái)務(wù)目標(biāo)或指標(biāo)負(fù)責(zé)。不過(guò),董事會(huì)必須在自由裁量權(quán)與留住高管和首席執(zhí)行官之間取得平衡。只有在極端情況下,首席執(zhí)行官才會(huì)因?yàn)殚L(zhǎng)期獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)而不拿任何薪酬——除了沒(méi)有薪水、現(xiàn)金獎(jiǎng)金或基于時(shí)間行權(quán)的股票之外——原因是失去高管和破壞公司穩(wěn)定的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)太高了。
讓馬斯克的薪酬計(jì)劃變得復(fù)雜的是,投資者可能看到了特斯拉未來(lái)面臨的問(wèn)題,而董事會(huì)似乎專(zhuān)注于為馬斯克過(guò)去實(shí)現(xiàn)的目標(biāo)支付薪酬。此外,馬斯克的巨額薪酬,以及特斯拉今年的業(yè)績(jī)不佳的事實(shí),都增加了問(wèn)題的復(fù)雜性。該公司宣布將裁員10%,甚至取消暑期實(shí)習(xí)項(xiàng)目,而與此同時(shí),該公司卻在投入資源恢復(fù)馬斯克的天價(jià)薪酬計(jì)劃。眾所周知,馬斯克本人無(wú)視大多數(shù)上市公司首席執(zhí)行官遵守的準(zhǔn)則,看起來(lái)行事沖動(dòng),發(fā)推也不考慮后果,而且不與董事會(huì)中的獨(dú)立董事商議,這讓投資者憂(yōu)心忡忡。
除了批準(zhǔn)馬斯克的薪酬計(jì)劃,特斯拉還在尋求投資者批準(zhǔn),將公司注冊(cè)地從特拉華州遷至德克薩斯州,這一改變似乎是受到特拉華州法官對(duì)馬斯克薪酬的裁決的推動(dòng)。投票網(wǎng)站稱(chēng)“特拉華州法院已經(jīng)表明,它將無(wú)視我們股東的意愿。我們相信股東的權(quán)利,也相信德州法院會(huì)尊重我們的權(quán)利?!?/p>
除了召集其他投資者投票否決馬斯克的薪酬外,持不同意見(jiàn)的團(tuán)體還要求股東們拒絕支持馬斯克的弟弟金巴爾·馬斯克和前二十一世紀(jì)??怂梗?1st Century Fox)首席執(zhí)行官詹姆斯·默多克連任。金巴爾已在董事會(huì)任職20年,而默多克是馬斯克的朋友。投資者們表示,這兩人都不是真正的獨(dú)立董事。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
Tesla investors are lobbying to shoot down the largest moonshot compensation plan in history.
A group including the New York City pension funds filed a notice on Monday urging others to vote against Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $46 billion stock-option package at the company’s shareholder meeting on June 13. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who serves as investment advisor to the city’s funds with $260 billion in assets, is marshaling the charge.
According to the letter he signed, the Tesla board is “overly beholden” to Musk and hasn’t bothered to step in when Musk ignores Tesla to focus on his roles at the Boring Company, Neuralink, SpaceX, X, and other companies. The investors complained about Musk splitting his time between the companies by focusing on one company per day. “The board has yet to ensure that Tesla has a full-time CEO,” investors said.
Meanwhile, he’s siphoning key talent away from Tesla. “More recently, Musk has begun poaching top engineers from Tesla’s AI and autonomy team for his new company, xAI, including Ethan Knight, who was computer vision chief at Tesla,” the investor letter said.
The notice has the makings of a showdown next month between some of Tesla’s pension fund investors, who believe they’re overpaying for a part-time CEO, and the EV maker’s base of individual retail investors who see Musk as a visionary leader who must remain at Tesla at all costs. At stake is a shareholder vote to ratify Musk’s pay plan, now valued at about $46 billion, after it was?rescinded by a judge in January. Tesla proposed the pay plan a second time in the spring, and has thrown its support behind the proposal.
Musk has rallied the retail base of support with?tweets thanking them for voting and Tesla’s own ads?promoting a vote in favor of Musk’s pay plan. Since April 29, Tesla has notified investors 11 separate times that Musk has tweeted about the meeting or that it has updated its website devoted to the vote, titled “Protecting Your Investment and Tesla’s Future.”
According to the dissident investors, which include Amalgamated Bank, AkademikerPension, and SOC Investment Group, Musk represents a key risk to stock values because he has pledged a portion of his 20% stake in Tesla as collateral for loans. “If Musk were ever forced to sell his pledged stock, it could lead to a massive drop in stock price to the detriment of shareholders,” the investor letter said.
Plus, the hands-off nature of the board means Musk treats Tesla “as a coffer” for himself and his other businesses, the investors argue. Musk has admitted to using Tesla engineers to work on issues at X, formerly Twitter, and defended himself by saying that “no Tesla board member had stopped him from using Tesla staff for his other businesses,” according to the letter. Those “distractions” have played a material role in Tesla’s underperformance relative to the S&P 500, General Motors, and Ford, investors said.
The Tesla board begs to differ, however. The website Tesla set up to support its pay-ratification vote features voting instructions and other information about the shareholder meeting, including a video with independent board chair Robyn Denholm. In it, Denholm said Musk’s comp plan was set up a decade ago with targets so “far-fetched, so extraordinarily ambitious that skeptics called them laughingly impossible.”
“If he failed, Elon was entitled to receive no salary, no cash bonuses, and no equity,” said Denholm. “But if Elon was able to make it happen, you and all other stockholders would reap the benefits. The award worked.” In half the time, Musk grew revenues from $11.8 billion to $96.8 billion, and turned profitability from $2.2 billion in the red to a $15 billion profit, Denholm said.
Indeed, one of the key reasons the vote to ratify Musk’s moonshot pay plan succeeded in 2018 was because the stakes were markedly different from other CEOs. The Tesla board was prepared to pay Musk $0 if he didn’t hit the targets, rather than applying what is known as so-called “board discretion,” where corporate directors still pay CEOs who have failed to hit financial markers.
Oftentimes, boards tell investors they don’t want to hold CEOs or executives responsible for economic headwinds or other factors out of their control that contributed to them missing stated financial targets or goals. Although, boards must balance the need for discretion with the need to keep executives and CEOs in their roles. Only in an extreme case would a CEO take home no pay for a long-term award—in addition to no salary, cash bonus or time-based stock—because the risk of losing the executive and destabilizing the company would be too high.
What makes Musk’s pay plan complicated is that investors likely see troubles ahead for Tesla, while the board appears to be focused on paying Musk for the targets he achieved in the past. Further, the magnitude of his pay and the fact that?Tesla’s performance has struggled this year has added to the complexity. The company announced it would lay off 10% of its staff and?even slashed its summer internship program, all while the company is devoting resources to reinstating Musk’s moonshot. Musk himself famously ignores the norms most publicly traded company CEOs abide by and appears to act—and tweet—impulsively and without conferring with the independent directors on the board, which does little to reassure investors.
In addition to ratifying his pay plan, Tesla is seeking investor approval to move from being incorporated in Delaware to Texas, a change that seems motivated by the Delaware judge’s ruling on Musk’s pay. According to the voting website: “The Delaware Court has shown that it will ignore the will of our stockholders. We believe in stockholder rights. We believe Texas Courts will respect those rights.”
In addition to rallying other investors to vote down Musk’s pay, the dissident group is asking shareholders to withhold support from Musk’s brother, Kimbal Musk, and former 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch. Kimbal has served on the board for 20 years, and Murdoch is Musk’s friend. Neither is truly independent, the investors said.