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The question of whether or not Elon Musk gets his $56 billion superbonus will be decided on June 13. Chairwoman Robyn Denholm is now stepping up the pressure on shareholders through a letter.

What preceded: Elon Musk was awarded a long-term bonus in the form of stock options as Tesla's CEO in 2018 if he met certain financial targets. This succeeded each time, and Musk would receive a $56 billion bonus as a result. An investor disagreed, and went to court. He was vindicated: Musk's bonus was cut.

In the news: Tesla chairwoman Robyn Denholm has been trying for some time to get Musk's compensation package approved after all. In a letter, she now makes the ultimate argument: Musk might quit if he doesn't get his money.

  • "Elon is not a typical chief executive and Tesla is not a typical company," it reads. "So the typical way companies compensate key executives will not lead to results for Tesla. Motivating someone like Elon requires something different."
  • And by "something different," Denholm is referring to that astronomical amount. Musk may well be looking for "other places." "What we recognized in 2018 and still recognize today is that Elon certainly doesn't have one thing: unlimited time," Denholm said.
  • Elon Musk's lack of time and especially attention span is notorious. Tesla employees complain bitterly about Musk's lack of attention to the car company. The CEO divides his time, simultaneously busy with social media platform X, artificial intelligence developer xAI and space company SpaceX, among others.

Superbonus for Musk doesn't actually seem to be a problem

To follow: Musk seems likely to get his way.

  • By June 13, all shareholders must vote on the package for Musk. According to Denholm, "This is clearly not about the money." And shareholders seem to be following her lead. According to Reuters news agency, 25 percent of shareholders have already voted, 80 percent of whom voted to keep Musk's super bonus.
  • Denholm's letter adds to the pressure: "Elon delivered on his promise and produced tremendous value for our shareholders. Keeping our commitment to Elon shows that we support his vision for Tesla and recognize his extraordinary achievements."
  • And so Elon Musk remains a polarizing figure. Is he a genius who deserves to get a big bonus, or a world-weary man who stammers when he doesn't get his way? Shareholders seem to think the former.

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