October 30, 2025 — The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension fund in the United States, has announced plans to vote against Elon Musk’s proposed $1 trillion compensation package at Tesla Inc., citing concerns over its scale and governance implications. The move deals a blow to Tesla’s efforts to secure shareholder approval for one of the most lucrative CEO pay deals in corporate history.
“The CEO pay package proposed by Tesla is larger than pay packages for CEOs in comparable companies by many orders of magnitude,” CalPERS said in a statement. “It would also further concentrate power in a single shareholder.” The fund currently holds around 5 million Tesla shares, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
CalPERS’ opposition underscores broader investor unease about executive compensation and corporate governance practices, particularly in high-profile firms where founder-CEOs hold significant influence. The vote adds to growing scrutiny over Musk’s leadership structure, which combines significant equity control with operational dominance across Tesla and other ventures.
