There was more bad news for EV maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) today, as CEO Elon Musk‘s pay package came under fire once again. This time, it’s not a judge doing the meddling but rather a proxy advisor. And that pan hit Tesla for better than 2.5% of its market cap in Friday afternoon’s trading.
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Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) had a lot to say about Tesla. It not only opposed the planned re-approval of Musk’s $56 billion pay package but also suggested investors not support the re-election of James Murdoch to the company’s board of directors.
The biggest quibble about the pay package, though, is that it’s an all-or-nothing proposal, ISS noted, with no way to mitigate or otherwise reduce it to a level that doesn’t equal the estimated GDP of Uganda in 2024.
However, ISS did support the move to depart Delaware and re-incorporate in Texas. That support was limited, somewhat, by noting “concerns” about the “unknown” nature of business law in Texas.
Not Everyone Is So Sure
While ISS is pretty dead-set against forking over an 11-figure payday to Elon Musk, others are pretty sure he needs some inducement to stick around. Jefferies analysts recently dropped a note that made it clear that Tesla’s board needs to “…find ways to reward Elon Musk as a tech innovator.”
Jefferies also suggested that the board “…devise compensation schemes that reward achieving milestones in technology innovation, including separation or spin-off of activities when needed, and ensuring the sustainability of operating performance.”
Is Tesla a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on nine Buys, 14 Holds, and nine Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 15.69% loss in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $174.60 per share implies that shares are fairly valued.
