Tesla shareholders complain Elon Musk is too distracting

Chris Isidore CNN

A progressive Tesla shareholder group wants Tesla’s board to focus CEO Elon Musk more on one of his many jobs: running the EV automaker. .

In a letter to Tesla’s board, the group said Mr. Musk was not paying enough time and attention to issues facing the company, such as the growing EV competition from other automakers, and He says he doesn’t spend enough time addressing issues that are important to the group. toxic work environment at Tesla.

In addition to his role at Tesla, Musk also heads Twitter, SpaceX, Boring Company, Neuralink, and more.

“We added Tesla to our portfolio first because we see it as a true leader in creating products and services that are critical to the transition to a sustainable and green economy,” the letter said. “But over time, I became more and more concerned with issues of corporate governance and leadership.”

Among the organizations that have signed the letter are union-owned bank Amalgamated Bank, St. Joseph Sisters of Carondelet, United Church Fund, Investor Advocate for Social Justice, and the New York City Administration. The letter says the investor who signed the letter said he owns $1.5 billion worth of Tesla stock, less than 1% of his shares.

By comparison, Musk owns or has the option to buy Tesla stock worth about $118 billion, or 20% of the stock.Musk has a net worth of $175 billion, according to forbes.

The letter alleges that Musk’s lack of focus at Tesla is causing problems for the company, including high turnover due to the work environment. But it doesn’t elaborate on what he should do to focus on those issues.

“Tesla needs a board that allows the CEO to focus on addressing challenges. I lost trust in the members because I failed to let them do it.”

Ivan Frishberg, Chief Sustainability Officer at Amalgamated Bank, said other investors were concerned that Musk would be a distraction. twitter recent purchasesand his ownership and Operating SpaceX and many other companies.

Frischberg said the group is not advocating Musk as CEO.

“We are Tesla investors,” he said. “In terms of governance, I would like to see the board become more independent and investor responsive, rather than Krabby.”

Musk is now essentially work for tesla for freethere is no cash salary, and after the final block of stock options from the 2018 salary package was granted earlier this year, there are no additional stock options to which he is entitled at this time.

Some analysts believe Tesla will announce Musk’s new salary package as a way to assure Wall Street that Tesla is still his priority despite other CEO jobs. said it expects and supports However, Frischberg was against the idea.

“I don’t think throwing more money at the guy is the answer,” he said.