Tesla has released its list of shareholder proposals ahead of its 2023 Annual Shareholder Meeting, held at Giga Texas.
Tesla’s shareholder meeting has become well known in the car world for its extravagance and the “hot takes” often issued by the automaker’s CEO, Elon Musk. Now, before its 2023 annual shareholder meeting at Giga Texas, the company has released its list of shareholder proposals which investors will have the opportunity to vote on.
As initially reported by Reuters, Tesla has released a list of five proposals to be voted on at the shareholder meeting on May 16th. The list includes many significant changes and a controversial investigation prompted by an Icelandic investing group.
The first proposal, which has gone viral recently, will vote on the Board nomination of previous Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, who has since left the company in 2019. Since his time at Tesla, Straubel has co-founded another business, Redwood Materials, which works closely with the American EV giant and other automakers to recycle battery materials like lithium, nickel, and cobalt, to name a few.
Of the Tesla co-founders, Straubel is the favorite of current CEO Elon Musk, who has previously stated he was regretful he did not work solely with him. Straubel will be the first Board nomination following the company’s recent Board member nomination rule change.
Besides Straubel, Elon Musk, and current Board member Robyn Denholm are up for re-election.
The second proposal concerns how frequently the Tesla Board will hold “non-binding advisory votes” regarding executives’ compensation. Shareholders will have the choice between the Board voting every year, every two years, or every three years. The Board currently recommends that the vote be held every three years.
The third proposal is the most controversial and has received significant shareholder attention since being released. Shareholders will vote on if a “key person risk report” be assembled, which would investigate and report on key persons, succession plans, and more that may put the business at risk. The proposal from the aforementioned Icelandic investment firm stems from the concern that Tesla may be too dependent on Elon Musk. The Board recommends voting against the proposal, arguing it would cause unnecessary harm.
The fourth proposal regards the compensation of CEO Elon Musk, recently promoted VP of Automotive Tom Zhu, VP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering Andrew Baglino, and CFO Zachary Kirkhorn. Shareholders will vote to either approve or deny the compensation plans for each of the executives, a measure that is widely expected to pass.
Fifth and finally, shareholders will vote on the appointment of Tesla’s private accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), as the business’s annual financial auditing service, a position that PWC has held for 17 years.
The Tesla shareholder meeting will be streamed on Youtube and on the Tesla Investor Relations site.
William is invested in Tesla and is not a certified financial advisor.
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