Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) is holding a vote on CEO Elon Musk’s 2018 compensation package, which was recently voided by a Delaware judge, as part of its upcoming Annual Shareholder’s Meeting. The package, worth $55.8 billion, has been criticized by one of Tesla’s largest individual shareholders, Leo KoGuan.
“Just say NO,” KoGuan said on X when asked how he’s voting.
In a series of posts on X, KoGuan called Musk a “magician,” his supporters “brainless suckers,” and referred to the proposed package as a “robbery attempt.”
He pointed out that Musk has sold around $39 billion in Tesla shares since the stock peaked in 2021, yet still holds a 13.4% stake in the company and is asking for an additional 10%. KoGuan also emphasized that he paid significantly more for his 0.8% stake in the company, amounting to around $3.5 billion.
This is not the first time KoGuan has been critical of Musk. In recent months, he has suggested that Musk consider appointing a replacement if he is unwilling to spend more time on Tesla and has accused Musk of “killing SH [shareholders] and Tesla.”
And KoGuan isn’t alone. His trajectory has been similar to Ross Gerber, another recovering Musk fan-boy, who earlier this year suggested that Musk was delusional to think he could blackmail shareholders into giving him more control of a company he already fully controls.
This sentiment is echoed by Fred Lambert, another Tesla shareholder, and editor-in-chief of the publication Electrek who said, in one of the posts KoGuan was responding to, that “the board and Elon have both proven that they have no efficient feedback loop. That has been broken by Elon’s social media addiction, his sycophants, and the board’s too-close relationship with Elon.”
“Even @KoguanLeo, the largest retail investor in Tesla, can’t get his concerns heard,” he added.
To Lambert’s point, despite the criticism, Tesla’s Board Chair Robyn Denholm and the company have expressed support for ratifying Musk’s pay package.
In a proxy statement, Denholm disagreed with the Delaware Court’s decision and called on shareholders to “fix this issue” as a matter of “fundamental fairness and respect” to Musk.
The vote on the compensation package and other proposals, including Tesla’s intent to move incorporation from Delaware to Texas, will take place at the company’s Annual Shareholder Meeting on June 13. Shareholders can cast their votes between now and then.
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