Tesla shareholders have reaffirmed a pay award of more than $45 billion for Elon Musk, the chief executive, after it was thrown out in a legal challenge.
The vote result, announced at Tesla’s annual meeting at its headquarters in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, is a strong sign that shareholders still believe in Mr. Musk, and it could persuade the judge who voided the award to reinstate it.
Support for the pay award, made up of stock options, will come as a relief to Mr. Musk’s admirers, who feared that rejection would prompt him to spend less time managing Tesla or even quit.
“We think that Elon is critical to Tesla’s success,” said Tasha Keeney, director of investment analysis at ARK Invest, which counts the auto maker among its largest holdings. “I think it’s very important that Elon stays at the helm.”
The vote was a setback for investors who had hoped it would send a message about the accountability of chief executives and the limits of executive pay.
“It’s a higher pay package than we have seen in the United States and I don’t think it sets a good precedent,” said Kristin Hull, founder and chief investment officer of Nia Impact Capital, which has pushed Tesla to improve working conditions at its factories.
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