Tesla CEO Elon Musk expressed frustration on Wednesday at the yearly compensation of rival EV maker Lucid Group CEO Peter Rawlinson, particularly in light of Musk’s own $56 billion pay package being invalidated by Delaware’s Court of Chancery.
What Happened: Musk responded with an angry emoji to Omar Qazi, a well-known Tesla enthusiast, who noted in a post that Rawlinson received $379 million in 2022 while Musk received nothing. This comes despite Lucid stock plummeting about 70.7% over the past year, compared to Tesla’s comparatively minor 6.8% decline.
“We live in a country where failure is rewarded and success is punished,” Qazi wrote.
According to data from the Equilar CEO Compensation Survey, Rawlinson’s total compensation reached $379 million in 2023, which is 11 times more than the package of General Motors Co CEO Mary Barra, whose total compensation was approximately $34 million. James Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Co, ranks third among automaker CEOs in terms of total compensation with $18 million.
Musk’s Compensation: Meanwhile, Musk did not take any salary from the company in 2022. Instead, the CEO was covered by a performance-based equity compensation plan approved in 2018.
Under Musk’s 2018 compensation plan, he was awarded 12 tranches of stock options that vest only if Tesla achieves certain performance targets. Interestingly, Musk has already qualified for these 12 tranches. The maximum value Musk could realize under the award was pegged at $55.8 billion.
However, late last month, a Delaware judge dismissed the remuneration package, terming it an "unfathomable sum."
The decision, however, can be appealed in the Delaware Supreme Court.
Rawlinson vs. Musk: Musk has previously criticized Rawlinson’s pay, saying, "Beware any company where leadership compensation is not linked to performance."
Rawlinson was formerly the chief engineer for Tesla‘s Model S.
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