The $1 Trillion Shield: Elon Musk’s Fight Against the ‘Corporate Terrorists’ He Says Threaten Tesla
Elon Musk is not asking for a trillion dollars to become the richest man in history. He is asking for it, he says, to build a shield.
This week, the iconic CEO of Tesla launched a stunning defense of what would be the largest corporate pay package ever created. The goal is not to add to his already planet-leading wealth, he claims. The goal is to protect his life’s work from what he called “corporate terrorists.”
In a dramatic call with investors, Musk painted a picture of a future where his control of Tesla is stolen away by shadowy advisory firms. His solution? A staggering new compensation deal that could see his ownership stake grow so large that it would be nearly impossible to overthrow him.
“I just don’t feel comfortable building a robot army here and then being ousted,” Elon Musk stated, his voice firm with conviction.
The battle for the soul of Tesla has officially begun.
Who Are the ‘Corporate Terrorists’?
The villains in Musk’s story are not rival car companies or government regulators. They are two firms most people have never heard of: Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis.
These companies are like powerful advisors for big money managers. They study corporate proposals, like executive pay packages, and then tell their clients how to vote their shares. Pension funds and index funds, which own huge chunks of companies like Tesla, often follow their advice.
To Musk, these firms are a dangerous threat. He accused them of having “no freaking clue” and making “many terrible recommendations in the past.” He fears that if these firms advise shareholders to vote against him, the passive funds will blindly follow, and he could lose his influence over Tesla.
This, he argues, would be “extremely destructive to the future of the company.” He needs a 25% voting stake, he says, to be safe from their influence.
A History of Conflict and Victory
This is not the first time Musk has clashed with these firms. And history shows that his fears may be overstated.
Back in 2018, Tesla secured a massive pay package for Musk. Both ISS and Glass Lewis recommended that shareholders vote against it. They argued it was too big and not in the shareholders’ best interests.
But the shareholders did not listen. The package was approved by a overwhelming 73% of the vote.
Earlier this year, after a Delaware judge threw out that package, Tesla held another vote. This time, support was even stronger, with 84% of shares voting in favor. The shareholders, it seems, have consistently sided with Musk and his board, not the advisory firms.
Despite this track record of support, the two firms have reportedly recommended voting against this new, even larger package. Neither firm responded to requests for comment about being labeled “terrorists.”
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The Trillion-Dollar Question
So, what exactly is Musk asking for?
The new proposal would grant Musk options to buy an additional 423.7 million shares of Tesla stock. He doesn’t get them for free. He only gets the right to buy them if he leads Tesla to achieve incredible growth targets that would make the company worth trillions of dollars more than it is today.
If he succeeds, and Tesla’s value skyrockets, those options could be worth close to $1 trillion. It is a classic high-risk, high-reward deal.
Tesla’s board is fiercely defending the package. Their argument is simple: they need to keep Musk focused. With his attention divided between SpaceX, his social media platform X, and his new artificial intelligence company xAI, the board worries he could walk away.
“Simply put, Sustaining and Stimulating Elon Musk is fundamental to Tesla achieving these goals and becoming the most valuable company in history,” the company stated in its official proposal.
The underlying message from the board is a stark warning: without this package, Musk might leave. For many investors, the choice is clear. They would rather have an engaged Musk with a trillion-dollar incentive than risk him taking his genius elsewhere.
The vote in the coming weeks will be a referendum on more than just pay. It will be a test of how much trust investors are willing to place in one man to secure the future of one of the world’s most innovative companies. The result will decide who truly controls Tesla’s wheel.
Author: Yasir Khan
Date: 23 Oct, 2025
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