Treasurer Russell Condemns Passage of Tesla CEO Pay Package Citing Corporate Governance Failures and Risk to Pensioners’ Retirement Security

11/07/2025

Treasurer Russell Condemns Passage of Tesla CEO Pay Package Citing Corporate Governance Failures and Risk to Pensioners' Retirement Security

Hartford, CT - Connecticut State Treasurer Erick Russell today condemned the passage of Tesla's proposed $1 trillion pay package for CEO Elon Musk at the company's annual shareholder meeting Thursday night. The Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds (CRPTF) voted "no" on the proposal.

"There are few examples of corporate mismanagement as egregious as Tesla's has been in 2025. The board moved to silence shareholders, while its distracted CEO severely damaged his once iconic brand. That's not just a business problem, it's a problem for the retirement security of millions of Americans, including Connecticut's hard-working teachers and state employees," said Russell.

Treasurer Russell has been sounding the alarm on Tesla's management team for months and joined a coalition of state financial officers in signing an October 2 letter urging shareholders to reject the package. In addition to questioning the CEO pay package the state financial officers raised serious concerns about Tesla's governance, including:

• A lack of board independence, with several directors having close personal and financial ties to Musk.
• Management's disproportionate control of voting shares, undermining shareholder democracy.
• The board's decision to resubmit a previously voided pay package, despite a Delaware court ruling it was improperly approved.
• Efforts to suppress shareholder input, including procedural maneuvers that limited transparency and accountability.

"These are serious corporate governance failures," said Russell. "Tesla is setting a dangerous precedent for all publicly traded companies, the rights of shareholders, and the long-term health of our financial markets."

Moreover, the scale of the CEO compensation package is without precedent:

• At $1 trillion, it is 10 times the annual cost of the federal SNAP program, which feeds over 40 million Americans, half of them children.
• It is 2,000 times the compensation of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, despite Nvidia's market cap being more than three times that of Tesla.
• It is 10 times the combined pay of every other CEO in the S&P 500.

While Tesla's board claims the package is tied to performance milestones, even failure could result in record-breaking compensation for Musk. Russell emphasized that these funds could otherwise be returned to shareholders, used to raise wages for workers, reinvested in innovation, or used to help repair the company's tarnished brand.

The CRPTF consists of six state pension funds and twelve state trust funds, with total assets of $62.7 billion. As principal fiduciary, Treasurer Russell is responsible for managing these assets on behalf of more than 200,000 state and municipal employees, teachers, retirees, and survivorships, as well as for trust funds that support academic programs, grants, and initiatives throughout the state.

The CRPTF holds shares in publicly traded companies like Tesla, giving it the right to vote on shareholder resolutions-including executive compensation-through the proxy voting process.

"Millions of everyday investors-teachers, nurses, firefighters, and public servants-entrust their retirement savings to companies like Tesla," Russell said. "They deserve better than a board that rewards failure and silences dissent, so we will continue to aggressively engage on their behalf."

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About the Office of the Treasurer

The Office of the Treasurer is charged with safeguarding Connecticut's financial resources through prudent cash management and debt management, with the State Treasurer serving as principal fiduciary for six state pension and twelve state trust funds. Additionally, the Office enhances the state's fiscal stability through programs promoting financial literacy and college savings, and it leverages business partnerships to support the advancement of Connecticut's social and policy priorities, including combating gun violence and protecting our environment. The Office of the Treasurer is led by State Treasurer Erick Russell, the first Black out LGBTQ person to win an election for statewide office in American history. To learn more, visit: Connecticut Office of the Treasurer Erick Russell.

Contact: Brett Cody
[email protected] | (959) 529-2468