Norway’s wealth fund rejects Musk’s $1 trillion Tesla deal
Norway’s $2.1T wealth fund will vote against Elon Musk’s record $1T Tesla pay deal, citing concerns over size, dilution, and CEO risk ahead of key shareholder vote.
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A Tesla Powerwall battery that is charged by the solar panels on top of Doris Brown's home, on October 8, 2025, in Houston. (AP)  
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world, announced on Tuesday that it will vote against ratifying Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s eye-watering compensation package, worth as much as $1 trillion, at the automaker’s annual meeting this week.
The decision sets up a showdown with Tesla’s board, which is urging investors to approve what would be the most lucrative executive pay deal in corporate history. Shareholders are due to cast their votes on November 6, in what has become a flashpoint for debate over corporate governance and CEO accountability.
Critics have denounced the proposal as excessive, while Tesla’s leadership warns that rejecting it could jeopardize Musk’s commitment to the company. Chair Robyn Denholm recently cautioned that Musk “could leave the company if the deal is rejected,” underscoring how dependent Tesla’s future is perceived to be on its controversial founder.
According to a Reuters analysis, while the package could theoretically grant Musk stock valued at $1 trillion over the next decade, deductions at the time of issuance would reduce the real value to around $878 billion.
In a statement posted on its website, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) said: "While we appreciate the significant value created under Mr. Musk’s visionary role, we are concerned about the total size of the award, dilution, and lack of mitigation of key person risk, consistent with our views on executive compensation."
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NBIM, which holds a 1.12% stake in Tesla worth roughly $17 billion, is the carmaker’s seventh-largest shareholder. The fund has previously clashed with Musk over executive pay, voting against his earlier $56 billion compensation package, a dispute that prompted Musk to snub an invitation to a conference in Oslo.
The fund said on Tuesday that it would also oppose the re-election of two of the three Tesla board members up for a vote this week.
The $2.1 trillion fund further indicated it would reject Tesla’s proposed general stock compensation plan, which covers all employees but could also be used by the board to benefit Musk.
Tesla, for its part, maintains that Musk will earn “nothing” unless the company achieves extraordinary growth milestones. The maximum payout would only be triggered if Tesla’s market value soars to $8.5 trillion, nearly six times its current worth.
Still, analysts argue that Musk could reap tens of billions of dollars even without hitting many of those targets, a reflection, they say, of how the company’s valuation already factors in aggressive projections across robotics, AI, and autonomous vehicle markets.