A trillion dollars on the line. The Norwegian Fund attacks Musk: “the award is contrary to our principles”
2025-11-04 09:00
publication
2025-11-04 09:00
The Norwegian State Pension Fund has officially announced that it will vote against ratifying the huge remuneration package for Tesla CEO Elon Musk. This decision, announced just ahead of the general meeting of shareholders to be held on November 6, 2025, is one of the first positions of large institutional investors and constitutes a major objection to a proposal valued at a potential trillion dollars.
The proposed remuneration package is historic and potentially the largest in the history of American corporations. It involves granting Musk an additional 12% stake in the company, but is strictly contingent on Tesla achieving a number of extremely ambitious goals, including reaching a market valuation of $8.5 trillion over the next decade – eight times its current market value. The proposal is a re-vote of a plan that was invalidated by a judge in Delaware in early 2024 in a smaller but still record-breaking version ($56 billion).
The main reason for the Norwegian fund's objection is the “total size of the award” and the fear of diluting the shares of current shareholders. The fund, which is Tesla's seventh-largest owner with a 1.12% stake worth $17 billion, has consistently expressed concern about excessive executive compensation. In its statement, NBIM stressed that while it appreciates the significant value created under Musk's visionary leadership, the package is contrary to their long-term corporate governance guidelines.
The Norwegians bought additional Orlen shares and reduced their position on CD Projekt. The value of investments in Poland is the highest in history
The half-yearly report showed that the Norwegian wealth super fund ended the first half of the year by posting more than $68 billion in profit. The managers also said they were limiting investments in Israeli companies, which accounted for a quarter of a percent of their stock portfolio. Still more than companies from Poland, where they bought, among others: securities of Orlen, developers, Allegro, and they sold, for example, CD Projekt.
Additionally, the Norwegian investor pointed to the “lack of limitation of key person risk”. The fund thus expresses concern that the company's structure is too dependent on one person, even one as influential as Elon Musk. This postulate is part of the broader mission of the Fund, which for years has been striving to promote better management standards, transparency and balance of power in the companies in which it invests, in the name of securing future generations of Norwegians.
The Fund's position as one of the largest shareholders in the world is important and puts pressure on other institutional investors. This is a key test of confidence, especially since Tesla's board, led by Chairwoman Robyn Denholm, has warned that rejecting the package could prompt Musk to leave the company and focus on his other ventures. The outcome of the vote at the November 6 general meeting is eagerly awaited as it will have far-reaching implications for the future of both Musk and Tesla's strategic direction.
The Norwegian wealth fund is Tesla's largest outside investor so far and has disclosed how it plans to vote. The next largest, Baron Capital, on Monday said it would support Musk's pay package. The company's largest institutional investors include: BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street have not yet disclosed their voting plans.
Prepared by JM
