California pension fund opposes Tesla’s ‘ridiculous’ Musk salary plan | Wilnesh News

The head of a large California pension fund told CNBC on Monday that he voted against the revised compensation package Tesla CEO Musk.

This week’s vote effectively reinstates the 2018 pay package that was blocked by a judge in January. Chris Elman, chief investment officer of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, said the fund had previously opposed the pay package and would do so again.

“We’re going to pay him 140 times what the average worker makes. How’s that deal? I think it’s very fair. This wage package is ridiculous,” Ellman said on “Squawk on the Street.”

CalSTRS held nearly 4.7 million Tesla shares as of June 30, 2023, according to its website. Elman said Caltrans has had a stake in Tesla since before it went public. Tesla was headquartered in California at the time, but moved to Texas at the end of 2021.

Musk’s compensation package includes performance-based stock options worth about $50 billion. CalSTRS is not the only major shareholder to oppose the proposal. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund also expressed opposition.

Elman said the fund has no plans to sell its Tesla stock, but he does believe the stock is overvalued.

“Even if these cars were equipped with artificial intelligence, they wouldn’t trade at 60 times earnings. That’s ridiculous,” Elman said.

In addition to Tesla, Musk also controls social media company X and rocket company SpaceX. The billionaire said he may focus more on other projects if Tesla’s compensation package is rejected.

Ellman said he doesn’t want to see Musk leave Tesla entirely, but added that Musk should let some professional managers handle more of the day-to-day operations at the electric car company.

“He needs to focus on cars, X or going to Mars. I think his heart is really going to Mars,” Ellman said.

As of April, CalSTRS administered more Approximately US$333 billion in assets.