According to TheRegister.com, Norway’s $1.5 trillion sovereign wealth fund has officially opposed Elon Musk’s proposed $1 trillion Tesla stock award ahead of the November 6 shareholder vote. Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway’s oil and gas profits, cited concerns about the award’s massive size, shareholder dilution, and failure to address key person risk. The announcement sent Tesla’s stock price down more than 4.4% as several major institutional investors remain undecided. This comes after Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm warned that Musk might leave if the compensation package isn’t approved. Under Musk’s leadership since 2007, Tesla’s revenue grew from about $200 million in 2011 to approximately $95 billion today, though growth has recently stalled.
Why this matters beyond boardrooms
Here’s the thing – when the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund speaks, markets listen. And this isn’t just about whether Musk gets his payday. This vote could reshape how major institutions approach executive compensation across the entire tech sector. We’re talking about a package so massive it could theoretically make Musk the world’s first trillionaire. But at what cost to regular investors?
The dilution concern is real. If Tesla issues billions in new shares to fund this award, every existing shareholder’s piece of the pie gets smaller. That includes retirement funds, index investors, and anyone with exposure to the broader market. Basically, you might own Tesla stock without even knowing it through your 401(k) or pension fund.
The Musk problem
Now let’s talk about the “key person risk” that NBIM mentioned. That’s corporate-speak for “what happens if Elon goes full-Elon?” Recent history isn’t reassuring. Musk’s political controversies, including that Nazi salute incident and supporting far-right figures, have reportedly cost Tesla around one million US EV sales according to one study. European sales have tanked too.
So here’s the question every Tesla investor should be asking: Are we paying $1 trillion to keep a genius, or to manage a liability? The board seems to think they can’t replace him. But is anyone truly irreplaceable in a company that’s now worth hundreds of billions?
The billionaire wealth gap
This compensation battle happens against a stark backdrop. Oxfam research shows the top 10 US billionaires, including Musk, saw their collective wealth increase by $698 billion in just one year. Musk’s personal net worth sits around $497 billion. That’s during a period when most Americans struggled with inflation and economic uncertainty.
The Norwegian fund’s voting rationale represents a growing institutional awareness that maybe, just maybe, there should be limits to executive compensation. Even for visionary founders. Because when one person’s potential payday equals the GDP of entire countries, it forces us to ask fundamental questions about corporate governance and wealth distribution.
Ultimately, this November vote will test whether shareholders see Musk as Tesla’s indispensable leader or a risk that needs managing. And given Tesla’s recent growth stall and Musk’s extracurricular controversies, that’s becoming a much harder calculation.
