Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again placed himself at the center of controversy, using the company’s latest earnings call to press for a massive pay package — reportedly worth nearly $1 trillion — and greater voting control over the company.
Musk told investors he needed this control to ensure he remains at the helm as Tesla develops what he called an “enormous robot army,” according to The Verge.
“My fundamental concern with regard to how much voting control I have in Tesla is, if I go ahead and build this enormous robot army, can I just be ousted at some point in the future? That’s my biggest concern,” Musk said during the call.
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The unusual appeal comes ahead of Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting on November 7, when investors are expected to vote on the proposed pay package. The plan would tie Musk’s compensation to ambitious production and valuation goals, including delivering one million robotaxis and one million humanoid robots, and raising Tesla’s market value by several trillion dollars. If successful, the package would cement Musk’s status as the world’s richest person by an even wider margin. He would become the world’s first trillionaire.
In his remarks, Musk framed the proposal as a way to “protect Tesla’s future,” suggesting that only he could be trusted to oversee the company’s growing ambitions in robotics and artificial intelligence.
“It’s called compensation. But it’s not like I’m going to go spend the money,” he said. “It’s just, if we build this robot army, do I have at least a strong influence over that robot army? Not control, but a strong influence.”
The tone of the remarks, which mixed bravado with veiled threats, reflected Musk’s pattern of using Tesla’s cult-like investor following to secure increasingly favorable terms. His suggestion that he could be “ousted” from the company, despite holding significant influence over the board, appeared inconsistent with his earlier warnings that he might leave Tesla altogether if the deal is not approved.
The company’s directors have not publicly indicated any intention to remove Musk, even after his involvement with the Trump administration earlier this year triggered protests and hurt Tesla’s U.S. sales.
Musk’s push for control over a potential “robot army” contrasts sharply with his earlier warnings about the dangers of artificial intelligence. In the past, he likened unchecked AI development to “summoning the demon” and urged governments to enact regulation before it was too late. But now, Musk appears to be positioning himself as the only person capable of safely leading the AI revolution — and benefiting financially from it.
Tesla’s humanoid robot project, Optimus, remains at an early stage. The robots have struggled with basic dexterity tasks, such as handling popcorn at a company event, and were revealed to have been remotely operated during demonstrations. Musk admitted that developing a robot hand as agile as a human’s remains one of the biggest engineering challenges.
Nonetheless, Musk called Optimus “Tesla’s biggest product of all time,” predicting that future versions would transform the company’s financial outlook.
“It’ll seem like a person in a robot suit, which is how we started off with Optimus,” he said, adding that Tesla plans to unveil “Optimus V3” early next year. A fourth version, he claimed, will be the one that scales into “tens of thousands of units.”
He also described the robot business as an “infinite money glitch,” implying it could eventually dwarf Tesla’s automotive operations in profitability. “Robot surgeons” and AI-enabled domestic assistants are among the potential use cases Musk has cited for the project.
Despite the showmanship, the proposal for Musk’s pay package has drawn criticism from governance experts and institutional advisors. Proxy-advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis have urged shareholders to vote against the plan, calling it excessive and misaligned with shareholder interests. In response, Musk branded the firms “corporate terrorists.”
Tesla’s board has defended the compensation proposal as necessary to retain Musk’s leadership and maintain Tesla’s innovative edge. Shareholders are expected to approve it, given the CEO’s track record of mobilizing investor enthusiasm and past overwhelming support for similar proposals.
Still, Musk’s remarks on the call raised fresh questions about his long-term vision and the concentration of power in Tesla’s leadership. His fixation on personal control over emerging AI-driven technologies underscores both his ambition and the potential governance risks facing one of the world’s most valuable companies.
