Musk's trillion-dollar compensation case is approaching a vote, and Tesla claims to have "internal succession plan" ready.

Tesla, Inc. Chairman of the Board Robyn Denholm stated in an interview with the media this week that if next week's crucial shareholder meeting rejects the proposal to grant Elon Musk a compensation package of up to $1 trillion, and Musk follows through on his threat to resign or shift focus, Tesla, Inc. is prepared to select a new CEO from within the company to ensure a smooth transition, although she did not completely rule out the possibility of an external candidate. Musk has been tied to Tesla, Inc. for over 10 years, and if the compensation agreement is approved, it would give him 25% of the voting rights after meeting incentive conditions such as market value growth, vehicle deliveries, Siasun Robot & Automation, and Robotaxi business. Musk has publicly stated that if he cannot achieve the expected level of control, he will shift his focus to other companies such as xAI and SpaceX. Denholm said, "I have directly discussed with him, if this plan is not approved, he will most likely step back or reduce his involvement." The Tesla, Inc. board of directors is actively mobilizing votes, including promoting media interviews, meeting with institutional shareholders, and courting retail votes. Board members have recently visited large shareholders such as Vanguard, BlackRock, Inc., and Doha, as many investors follow the recommendations of proxy advisory firms such as ISS and Glass Lewis, both of which recommend "against". To encourage retail participation, Tesla, Inc. even moved the Optimus humanoid Siasun Robot & Automation to distribute candy in front of the Nasdaq, attracting onlookers. As of the close of trading on Tuesday, Tesla, Inc. stock rose 1.8%, with a year-to-date increase of about 12%, still lagging behind the 17% increase in the S&P 500 index during the same period. Earlier this year, the market experienced a sharp decline in the stock price due to concerns about the aging model and Musk's political actions causing consumer backlash, prompting the market to reevaluate the importance of Musk's deep involvement in the company's valuation and orders, becoming one of the core logics of the new compensation package. At the same time, a working paper by Yale University economists published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) pointed out that since Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 and openly aligned with the Republican Party, his political actions have had a significant negative impact on Tesla, Inc.'s U.S. sales. The study estimates that if there was no "Musk party effect", Tesla, Inc.'s U.S. sales from October 2022 to April 2025 would have been 67%-83% higher, equivalent to an increase of 1 million to 1.26 million units sold. The study suggests that Musk's donations of nearly $300 million to Republican candidates, and his appointment by Trump to lead the government efficiency department, have alienated the environmentally conscious car-buying group, mainly leaning towards the Democratic Party, resulting in a decline in market penetration in key markets such as California. Data shows that Tesla, Inc.'s third-quarter registrations in California fell by 9.4%, with market share falling to 46.2%. The study suggests that this behavior may even slow down the time for California to achieve its zero emissions target. However, as Tesla, Inc.'s narrative shifts from vehicle sales to the Robotaxi and AI Siasun Robot & Automation platforms, market sentiment has improved slightly, with investors focusing on Tesla, Inc.'s capitalization path in the future of artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and humanoid Siasun Robot & Automation fields. Denholm emphasized that the company has a "Plan B", with an internal talent pool including executives like global manufacturing head and China region head Zhu Xiaotong having cross-domain experience, and the company is also not ruling out adopting a "co-CEO" or other diverse governance models to reduce executive concentration risk. According to her, shareholders will also be consulted on whether to invest in xAI, and if approved, the company will initiate a related party transaction assessment process, although no investment has been made yet as xAI is building a completely different type of AI technology.