Elon Musk just made Tesla’s shareholder vote the most public spectacle in history and everyone’s watching. Spending millions on X ads to push a $1 trillion compensation package sounds outrageous, but it’s really a signal of the stakes he sees in the future of robotics and AI. He’s not chasing money for himself, he’s trying to lock in control so he can steer Tesla safely if the company builds millions of robots. Activist shareholder firms have zero skin in the game, and Musk is betting that letting them dictate the future could be catastrophic. Every ad, every post, every vote becomes a test of whether markets understand the long-term risks and opportunities he’s trying to manage. If shareholders back him, it’s more than compensation, it’s a chance to secure leadership that can safely scale transformative technology without short-term interference.
Tesla is now running paid ads on Facebook, Instagram, X, Reddit and Google Search, encouraging people to vote their $TSLA shares.
"The future of Tesla is in your hands. Vote in line with the Board's recommendations on ALL proposals." pic.twitter.com/VjHbwLjhiS
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 24, 2025
“Tesla is now buying advertising on Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) to get Tesla shareholders to vote for his CEO compensation package worth up to $1 trillion in stock options.” https://electrek.co/2025/09/24/tesla-buying-ads-elon-musk-x-vote-1-trillion-compensation/
“It’s not about ‘compensation’, but about me having enough influence over Tesla to ensure safety if we build millions of robots. If I can just get kicked out in the future by activist shareholder advisory firms who don’t even own Tesla shares themselves, I’m not comfortable with that future.” https://electrek.co/2025/09/24/tesla-buying-ads-elon-musk-x-vote-1-trillion-compensation/