Tesla shareholders set to vote on Elon Musk's $1 trillion pay package on November 6

Tesla shareholders will vote on Thursday on the fate of a massive pay package intended to retain Elon Musk long enough to achieve technological breakthroughs he vows will change the world.

Musk, who has claimed that Tesla's engineering expertise in artificial intelligence, autonomy, and robotics will surpass rival tech giants, stands to receive as much as $1 trillion in an unprecedented package linked to performance targets.

Tesla Chair Robin Denholm has appeared on CNBC and other broadcasts in recent weeks to promote the plan, demonstrating the board's continued enthusiastic support for Musk, despite criticism that the billionaire's alignment with far-right political figures has affected sales.

"Without Elon, Tesla could lose significant value, as our company may no longer be valued for what we aim to become: a transformative force reimagining the fundamental building blocks of mobility, energy and labour," AFP quoted Denholm's message on October 27.

Musk has suggested that he might leave Tesla or step back if his ownership stake isn't increased to grant him the level of influence he wants over the company's future.

The package could increase Musk's stake to over 25 percent of Tesla shares from its current level of more than 12 percent.

"It's not like I'm going to spend the money," Musk said on a conference call in October. “It's just if we build this robot army, (I want to) have at least a strong influence over that robot army.”

The vote result will be announced at Tesla's annual shareholder meeting held at the Austin, Texas factory on Thursday.

Anti-Musk protesters are planning a demonstration outside the Tesla gigafactory that day, following an anti-Musk rally in downtown Austin on Wednesday.

"A trillion dollars is way too much any person should have under any circumstances," activist Ethan McBride told AFP, calling the package a means of “enriching the man who is funding degradation of our democracy.”

Musk, with a net worth of over $500 billion, he is already the world's richest person, according to Forbes' real-time list of billionaires.

He must achieve 12 milestones linked to market capitalisation to qualify for the full pay package. The first tranche would be available if and when Tesla reaches a market value of $2 trillion.

The plan also involves a series of operating profit and product goals, such as the delivery of 20 million Tesla vehicles. The package aims to ensure Musk remains at Tesla for at least seven and a half years.

Musk has expressed that Tesla's potential for growth is almost limitless, stating in July that "Tesla will be the most valuable company in the world by far" if the company successfully achieves its goals for autonomous driving and AI.

Musk's success in expanding Tesla, SpaceX, and other ventures has motivated many supporters. However, sceptics have argued that the company has been sluggish in launching new models and that Musk tends to delay or fail to meet targets that seem challenging, if not impossible, the report said.

Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), both advisory firms, have criticised the pay proposal, with Musk referring to them as "corporate terrorists."

An ISS analysis on October 17 criticised the justification for the possible windfall, pointing out that Musk's financial interests are already strongly linked to Tesla's outcome, it added.

As structured, the separation of the overall package into tranches of "unprecedented value "could undermine the necessity for all goals to be realised," said ISS, which also flagged the lack of explicit requirements that the busy Musk keep focused on Tesla.

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, one of Tesla's 10 largest shareholders, announced this week that it would vote against the proposal.

"While we appreciate the significant value created under Mr Musk's visionary role, we are concerned about the total size of the award, dilution and lack of mitigation of key person risk -- consistent with our views on executive compensation," Norges Bank Investment Management said on its website.

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is among those voting against the proposal.

Florida state officials have approved the plan, highlighting Musk's history of generating equity value and describing the package as the "gold standard for executive compensation."

(With inputs from AFP)