[mgiannopoulos]

Companies and shareholders meetings work a bit differently than what you suggest. Other than that, the grand majority of Tesla shareholders are quite happy with the financial state of the company and would like for Musk to continue leading the company and be compensated for it.

[Eddy_Viscosity2]

I realize that. But there is nothing stopping them from sending him money, if they think he deserves it.

[pie_flavor]

They thought he deserved it, and voted to send him the money. Then this guy started stopping them.

[Eddy_Viscosity2]

It turned out this guy's claim was justified, given the court agreed. Again, if it was really important to these investors that Elon have more billions, they do not need any courts permission to just send him money.

[AlchemistCamp]

Try to think about this from the shareholders’ point of view.

They want Elon compensated with the bonus he hit very difficult growth targets to earn because they want to make money from him further growing the company.

If they just donate the shares they personally bought, then they don’t make money. They lose it.

[Eddy_Viscosity2]

I get that, but my proposal is the same thing. The shareholders could indicate that the only reason they are sending the money is because he met the targets. Therefore he knows that he got the money for meeting target -- precisely the same outcome whether from the company coffers or from individual investors.

Those billions could have gone directly to shareholders as dividends, or reinvested in the company for future growth. Either of these would be better at making money for investors. I question the logic that giving it to Elon will motivate him any differently than a lesser, but still very generous compensation would have.

It is presumed here that money is what is driving Elon (or other already billionaires). This is only ever partially true. People like him also love the power of being in charge and notoriety. Those are likely worth more than the money for Elon in particular. The board and investors should, as is their fiduciary duty, pay the minimum needed to keep him doing what he's doing.

[AlchemistCamp]

I don't think you do get it. The company has lost $75B in market cap since this activist ruling and will likely lose much more going forward, especially if the ruling is not overturned on appeal.

Not only that, but I think it's a real loss for the US in general and Deleware in particular as a good environment for business that respects property rights. Some guy with nine shares of stock overrode the wishes of over 3/4 of the shareholders and his lawyers may extract billions from the company which the market clearly sees as having been harmed by their actions.