Tesla is nearing a pivotal moment that could shape its future for years to come. Today, the company will announce the results of a shareholder vote on CEO Elon Musk’s proposed $1 trillion pay package. If approved, the deal would grant Musk unprecedented influence over Tesla, along with the largest corporate payday in history, should he meet a series of ambitious performance targets.
In the unlikely event that shareholders reject the package, Musk says he’ll leave the company. But the vote isn’t just about Musk’s paycheck. Far more is at stake for Tesla’s direction and long-term strategy.
Welcome to Critical Materials, your daily round-up of news and events shaping the world of electric cars and technology. Also on our radar today: Lucid Motors has reduced its production forecast for this year despite achieving record deliveries and increased revenue in the third quarter.
Plus, a battery recycling company founded by a former Tesla executive just opened a large facility that could help the U.S. strengthen its EV supply chain. Let’s dig in.
30%: At Tesla, It’s Elon’s Way Or The Highway
2026 Tesla Model 3 Standard
Photo by: Tesla
At Tesla’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas, on Thursday afternoon, the company will release the results of the long-awaited shareholder vote, which determines whether Musk continues to lead the company or leaves to pursue his AI ambitions elsewhere.
Given Musk’s immense sway over his fan base, analysts widely expect the vote to pass in his favor. If it does, he’ll need to hit a series of ambitious performance targets to unlock the payout. That includes deploying one million robotaxis and delivering 20 million vehicles over the next decade.
Musk will also have to prove his worth by driving Tesla’s market capitalization to $8.5 trillion in 12 separate tranches over time. And as Reuters reported earlier, Musk gets paid billions even if he misses targets, and just attains some smaller goals in the short term.
But not all shareholders share the same view. Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, is one of Tesla’s top shareholders. The group said this week that it was voting against the pay package. Here’s what Norges said in a statement:
While we appreciate the significant value created under Mr. Musk’s visionary role, we are concerned about the total size of the award, dilution, and lack of mitigation of key person risk- consistent with our views on executive compensation.
And some analysts are skeptical of the pay package as well. Here’s more from CNBC:
Shareholder advocate and governance expert James McRitchie, who drives a Tesla, is also opposing the plan. The company needs to address a number of risks, he said, especially around demand and profitability with the sunsetting of federal EV tax credits that have long incentivized purchases.
“Tesla has all these fanboys. So many retail investors bought the stock because they love the cars,” McRitchie said. “There’s a lot to love there, but you should also pay attention to the finances and risks.”
Sooner or later, Tesla will have to face reality. Its stock has soared largely on hopes and dreams, while the robotaxis still rely on human drivers to supervise and intervene as the vehicles break traffic rules. And sales keep sliding in every market where Tesla operates.
Tesla’s core profits still come from its passenger car business, which it seems to be sidelining as it pivots towards humanoid robots and AI. Eventually, the company will need to confront the limits of those dreams and find a more sustainable path forward.
60%: Lucid Cuts Production Target For This Year
Photo by: Lucid Motors
Wall Street wasn’t happy with the earnings EV start-up Lucid Motors reported on Wednesday, despite its third-quarter revenue jumping 68% year-over-year to $336 million. The company also lowered its 2025 production target to 18,000 units, according to Reuters. It was between 18,000 and 20,000 units before.
But let’s ignore the Street for a moment, because young start-ups don’t really deliver the quarterly miracles investors are hoping for. (Not in the automotive space, anyway.)
The good news is that Lucid delivered a record number of EVs in the third quarter during the surge in sales due to the end of the $7,500 federal tax credits. Production of the Gravity SUV is ramping, and the company’s mid-size electric SUV, aimed to lock horns with the Tesla Model Y and the Rivian R2, is still on track for launch late next year.
Plus, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has agreed to extend its $750 million loan to $2 billion, injecting another lifeline into the company to help it scale. The next few quarters could be rough, but don’t write the company off just yet.
90%: Redwood Materials’ Giant Factory Gets Going
Photo by: Redwood Materials
Redwood Materials, the battery recycling company founded by former Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, said Thursday it has begun operations at its new $3.5 billion plant in South Carolina.
The facility adds 20,000 metric tons of annual capacity for producing critical battery materials, supplementing the 60,000 metric tons Redwood recovered and refined at its Nevada site last year.
The company said that the U.S. already sits on a vast and untapped stockpile of lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese that’s locked inside the electronics and EVs Americans use every day.
Recovering and recycling those materials could make the country more self-sufficient while sharply cutting the environmental cost of mining, Redwood said.
100%: How Can Tesla Continue To Be Profitable?
Photo by: Tesla
Tesla’s core money-making business, its Model Ys and Model 3s that it sells to everyday EV buyers, is rapidly shrinking. There’s no new volume product in sight, and the business case for the driverless Cybercab feels very TBD.
The future, Elon Musk says, will come from humanoid robots that will clock shifts in factories and fold your laundry. But that’s still a dream. The real question is how Tesla plans to sustain itself until that future arrives. Should it refocus on building new vehicles and meaningfully updating existing ones? Or by putting the $25,000 model back on track to reignite demand where it matters most?
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