Musk says he needs Tesla control to manage 'robot army'

Repost of article

Elon Musk says he needs $1 trillion to control Tesla’s robot army. Yes, really.

by Jameson Dow

Electrek / 2025-10-22

Summary

Elon Musk stated on Tesla 's Q3 earnings call that he needs a $1 trillion compensation package to maintain control over what he called a "robot army" of Optimus humanoid robots, saying his fundamental concern is whether he could be ousted after building this robotic workforce.​

Major proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis have recommended shareholders vote against the controversial pay package, with Glass Lewis valuing it at $141.6 billion and warning it could dilute shareholder value even if Musk achieves just one performance milestone.​

Tesla reported Q3 earnings with record revenue of $21.2 billion but profits fell 40% compared to the same period last year, despite delivering 497,099 vehicles as customers rushed to take advantage of the expiring federal EV tax credit.​

A coalition of labor unions including the American Federation of Teachers and Communications Workers of America launched a "Take Back Tesla" campaign urging shareholders to reject Musk's pay proposal, arguing his political activities have damaged the Tesla brand.​

Tesla shareholders will vote on the compensation plan at the company's annual meeting, which would grant Musk up to 423 million shares if the company reaches an $8.5 trillion valuation and achieves operational milestones including producing one million robots.