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by thisisit 3028 days ago
Is tying CEO performance to company performance really a good idea? Just 3 days ago we had a story about how shareholding affects the company and CEO:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16502607

So, it begs the question - What do shareholders do if something like this happens?

Additionally,

> But the success has also underscored the company’s dependence on its CEO -- a risk factor that’s routinely spelled out in regulatory filings.

> “Although Mr. Musk spends significant time with Tesla and is highly active in our management, he does not devote his full time and attention to Tesla,” the firm’s annual report said, noting that he’s also CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

So, it seems Tesla is dependent on Musk but it routinely highlights how he is not fulling paying attention to Tesla. The question becomes - why should they pay a part time CEO a full time salary? And what happens if Musk doesn't hit the target and they need to hire his replacement?

> The award could affect what Tesla has to pay to hire a potential successor, Glass Lewis said

It might change how other CEOs might view compensation at Tesla. They might push for even more aggressive remuneration.

So, its better not to open a door which cannot be closed later.

1 comments

Slopes are only slippery when they change the methods by which you make the decision. Otherwise they're just linear gradients.

AFAIK, a big part of Musk's success is not forgetting this: What people build (which is probably everything you've ever interacted with) people can build differently; _especially_ things of contracts and concepts like compensation packages.

To put it another way; if the stockholders and board of Tesla decide to do something unusual like this, they could also easily decide to do another unusual thing and not repeat it.

So, you are saying stockholders and board of Tesla should change the method for Musk. And when it comes time to choosing a successor they should again change the method and take a vow to never change the method again.
Yes, yes, and then no. They are under no obligation or requirement to maintain a given system, and, I would argue, it's unreasonable to try to do so given how powerfully unique each aspect of the situation is (or must be).

Not just anyone can lead a company; not just anyone could (I presume) lead a company like Tesla. Any process by which you would select that level of uniqueness, it seems to me, must necessarily be unique itself.