Renowned TV host Jim Cramer has backed Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk’s trillion-dollar compensation package, while urging investors to think beyond short-term numbers and recognize the company's broader technological ambitions and societal impact.
Cramer Tells Investors ‘Don’t Be Small-Minded’
On Thursday, in a post on X, Cramer weighed in on Musk’s controversial pay package from Tesla, the company that he has led for nearly two decades.
Cramer said, “Don’t be small-minded,” urging investors to think beyond the short-term and grasp the sheer scale of what Tesla under Musk represents. “Tesla is about robots, full self-driving, the future,” he said, emphasizing that it’s more than just an automotive company. “Give him his package.”
Musk’s Trillion-Dollar Compensation With Aggressive Targets
Tesla’s board recently unveiled a new compensation package for its CEO that could be worth as much as $1 trillion, across 12 tranches, with the 11th and 12th tranch requiring a market capitalization of $7.5 trillion and $8.0 trillion, respectively, compared to its current $1.41 trillion.
While the board has asked investors to vote in favor of the recommendations that it has laid down in this regard, critics have pointed out that Musk could collect as much as $50 billion by hitting some of the easier goals that are part of the package.
Experts Split Over Pay Package
Fund manager and CEO of Ark Invest, Cathie Wood, has defended Musk’s package, while pushing back against the index funds that opposed it, calling it “a form of socialism.”
“When shareholders first voted on @elonmusk’s 2018 pay package, #Tesla was not in any index, and the pay package won decisively,” she said, adding that investors will approve of this package as well, in a post on X.
Ross Gerber of Investment firm Gerber Kawasaki has come out against the package, terming it “insanity.” Gerber questioned the company’s board, asking if they tried to “actually negotiate with Elon? I doubt it,” he said.
He then warned that the Tesla board was not “independent” of Musk, while adding, “another mess coming,” in a post on X, earlier this week.
Tesla shares were up 2.28% on Thursday, closing at $448.98 per share, and are down 0.58% pre-market. The stock scores high in Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, with a favorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms. Click here for deeper insights into the stock, its peers and competitors.
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