Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) renewed his criticism of America’s widening wealth gap, while calling out Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk’s trillion-dollar pay package that was approved by shareholders on Thursday.
60% of Americans Live ‘Paycheck To Paycheck’
On Thursday, in a post on X, Sanders slammed Musk’s $1 trillion pay package, which was approved by the company’s shareholders during its annual meeting this week.
Sanders pointed to Musk’s $270 million in contributions to President Donald Trump’s campaign last year, while adding that he was now “in line to become a trillionaire.” At the same time, he notes that 60% of Americans are “living paycheck to paycheck,” highlighting the stark contrast in the U.S. economy.
The Senator from Vermont said that Americans now understand that they’re “living in a rigged economy,” adding that “Together, we can and must change that.”
Investors Split Over Musk’s Pay Package
While a majority of investors voted in favor of Musk’s controversial compensation package, there have been several prominent investors and analysts who’ve criticized it in recent weeks.
This includes Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the $2.1 trillion Norges Bank Investment Management, which holds a 1.12% stake in Tesla worth roughly $17 billion, and announced that it would be voting against the plan, citing “dilution, and lack of mitigation of key person risk.”
Investor Ross Gerber of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management has been a vocal critic of the move, calling it “absurd,” and recently slammed Tesla’s board of directors, saying, “I’ve never seen a worse BOD than Tesla. It's so transparent that they all represent Elon’s interests and zero representation of the other 85% of the company.”
Others, such as Cathie Wood of Ark Invest, have come out in support of the plan, with Wood saying, “I do not understand why investors are voting against Elon's pay package,” while noting that they stand to benefit enormously if Musk and his team manage to hit the objectives of this pay plan.
Tesla shares were down 3.54% on Thursday, closing at $445.91, and are up 0.17% overnight. The stock scores high on Momentum and Quality in Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, with a favorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms. Click here for deeper insights into the stock, its peers and competitors.
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