Robyn Denholm, the chair of Tesla’s board, defended the company’s proposed compensation package for CEO Elon Musk during an interview with The New York Times published on September 12, 2025. The proposal is for a decade and comes to ground-breaking $1 Trillion. This incredible sum combined with 41 other special treatment deals makes this the largest pay package in corporate history. Tesla shareholders are set to vote on this important proposal come November.
Denholm served on the special committee that wrote the compensation proposal. She argued that Musk’s pay is tied to non-standard hurdles. She said the huge, unusual package was supposed to be an incentive for Musk. His vision is propelling Tesla even further into its next phase of innovation and industrial expansion.
In our interview at the Summit, Denholm told me that she has been made somewhat uncomfortable by the public discussion of her proposal’s bottom line. She remarked, “I think it’s a little bit weird talking about the dollars when it’s actually the voting influence,” suggesting that the shareholders’ decision holds more weight than the monetary figures involved.
Denholm thinks that Elon Musk’s crazy long-term vision for Tesla needs a different compensation structure. This new model needs to match the incredible and unprecedented challenges they’re up against. She contended that this method is consistent with the company’s larger vision and goals. Most importantly, it aims to reward innovation and risk-taking rather than merely judging performance against established norms.
The proposal has sparked considerable debate among investors and analysts alike, with some questioning the rationale behind such a staggering figure. Denholm as well as other board members repeatedly assert that under Musk’s captaincy the company requires powerful inducements. These incentives should be commensurate with the grand ambitions he has for Tesla.
Indeed, Denholm seemed ill-at-ease at times during her extended interview with The New York Times. This tension underscored the political pressure surrounding her push for a historic, monumental proposal. Her remarks come on the heels of a very public town hall held by Musk himself on a visit to Green Bay, Wisconsin on March 30, 2025. In the meeting, he addressed questions on the pay structure and shared his strategy for steering the automaker ahead.
As Tesla approaches the shareholder vote in November, Denholm’s defense of the compensation package highlights the board’s commitment to aligning Musk’s incentives with the long-term success of the company. Stakeholders, including the Alliance, are diligently watching these discussions as they unfold. Curious to know how this once-in-a-century proposal will shape the future direction of Tesla?
