TSLA showing cracks?
01-03-2021
, 12:40 AM
Quote:
Summary of 2019 Executive Compensation Program
The following is a summary of some of the key points of our 2019 executive compensation program:
• Tesla continues to emphasize structuring compensation incentives to reward our named executive officers based on performance.
• Equity awards weigh heavily in our named executive officers’ total compensation, including awards that vest upon the achievement of clear and measurable milestones. Since these awards increase in value as our stock price increases (and in the case of stock option awards, have no value unless our stock price increases following their grant), our named executive officers’ incentives are closely aligned with the long-term interests of our stockholders. In particular, 2019 was a record-setting year for Tesla’s annual revenues, year-end cash balance, vehicle production and deliveries, and energy storage deployment, and we further laid the foundation for the future with international manufacturing operations, the unveiling of Model Y and Cybertruck, and the launch of the third generation of Solar Roof. During 2019, we granted certain of our named executive officers equity awards for promotions to their roles or as part of our ongoing compensation review and alignment process.
• Tesla has no cash bonus program for any of our named executive officers and generally does not provide any perquisites or tax reimbursements to our named executive officers that are not available to other employees. No named executive officer has any severance or change of control arrangement, other than the vesting of the 10-year performance-based stock option award granted to Elon Musk in January 2018 (the “2018 CEO Performance Award”) based solely upon the achievement of market capitalization milestones as measured at the time of a change in control of Tesla. See “Executive Compensation—Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Chief Executive Officer Compensation—2018 CEO Performance Award” below for more details on the 2018 CEO Performance Award.
• Each named executive officer is also employed at will and is expected to demonstrate exceptional personal performance in order to continue serving as a member of the executive team.
• Elon Musk, our Chief Executive Officer, historically earned a base salary that reflected the applicable minimum wage requirements under California law, and he was subject to income taxes based on such base salary. However, he has never accepted his salary. Commencing in May 2019 at Mr. Musk’s request, we eliminated altogether the earning and accrual of this base salary. Consequently, 100% of Mr. Musk’s future compensation is at-risk in the form of the remaining unvested stock options under the 2018 CEO Performance Award and the 10-year performance-based stock option award granted to Elon Musk in August 2012 (the “2012 CEO Performance Award”).
• In particular, the 2018 CEO Performance Award is comprised of 12 equal tranches, each vesting only upon the achievement of a market capitalization milestone matched to one of eight revenue-based operational milestones or eight Adjusted EBITDA-based operational milestones, all of which were viewed as difficult hurdles at the time of grant. While our stockholders benefit from each incremental increase in Tesla’s performance and stock price, aligning their interests with Mr. Musk’s incentives, the tranches under the 2018 CEO Performance Award vest only upon the full achievement of specific milestones, making it even more challenging for Mr. Musk to realize value from such increases. As of the date of this proxy statement, one of the 12 tranches under this award has vested and become exercisable, subject to Mr. Musk’s payment of the exercise price of $350.02 per share and the minimum five-year holding period generally applicable to any shares he acquires upon exercise.
Originally Posted by Tesla Proxy Statement
Summary of 2019 Executive Compensation Program
The following is a summary of some of the key points of our 2019 executive compensation program:
• Tesla continues to emphasize structuring compensation incentives to reward our named executive officers based on performance.
• Equity awards weigh heavily in our named executive officers’ total compensation, including awards that vest upon the achievement of clear and measurable milestones. Since these awards increase in value as our stock price increases (and in the case of stock option awards, have no value unless our stock price increases following their grant), our named executive officers’ incentives are closely aligned with the long-term interests of our stockholders. In particular, 2019 was a record-setting year for Tesla’s annual revenues, year-end cash balance, vehicle production and deliveries, and energy storage deployment, and we further laid the foundation for the future with international manufacturing operations, the unveiling of Model Y and Cybertruck, and the launch of the third generation of Solar Roof. During 2019, we granted certain of our named executive officers equity awards for promotions to their roles or as part of our ongoing compensation review and alignment process.
• Tesla has no cash bonus program for any of our named executive officers and generally does not provide any perquisites or tax reimbursements to our named executive officers that are not available to other employees. No named executive officer has any severance or change of control arrangement, other than the vesting of the 10-year performance-based stock option award granted to Elon Musk in January 2018 (the “2018 CEO Performance Award”) based solely upon the achievement of market capitalization milestones as measured at the time of a change in control of Tesla. See “Executive Compensation—Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Chief Executive Officer Compensation—2018 CEO Performance Award” below for more details on the 2018 CEO Performance Award.
• Each named executive officer is also employed at will and is expected to demonstrate exceptional personal performance in order to continue serving as a member of the executive team.
• Elon Musk, our Chief Executive Officer, historically earned a base salary that reflected the applicable minimum wage requirements under California law, and he was subject to income taxes based on such base salary. However, he has never accepted his salary. Commencing in May 2019 at Mr. Musk’s request, we eliminated altogether the earning and accrual of this base salary. Consequently, 100% of Mr. Musk’s future compensation is at-risk in the form of the remaining unvested stock options under the 2018 CEO Performance Award and the 10-year performance-based stock option award granted to Elon Musk in August 2012 (the “2012 CEO Performance Award”).
• In particular, the 2018 CEO Performance Award is comprised of 12 equal tranches, each vesting only upon the achievement of a market capitalization milestone matched to one of eight revenue-based operational milestones or eight Adjusted EBITDA-based operational milestones, all of which were viewed as difficult hurdles at the time of grant. While our stockholders benefit from each incremental increase in Tesla’s performance and stock price, aligning their interests with Mr. Musk’s incentives, the tranches under the 2018 CEO Performance Award vest only upon the full achievement of specific milestones, making it even more challenging for Mr. Musk to realize value from such increases. As of the date of this proxy statement, one of the 12 tranches under this award has vested and become exercisable, subject to Mr. Musk’s payment of the exercise price of $350.02 per share and the minimum five-year holding period generally applicable to any shares he acquires upon exercise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tesla Proxy Statement
Compensation Philosophy
As the world’s first vertically integrated sustainable energy company, our mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. We design, develop, manufacture and sell high-performance, fully electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems, and also install and maintain such energy systems and sell solar electricity. To achieve our goals, we have designed, and intend to modify as necessary, our compensation and benefits program and philosophy, to attract, retain and incentivize talented, deeply qualified and committed executive officers who share our philosophy and desire to work toward these goals. We believe compensation incentives for executive officers should promote the success of our company and motivate them to pursue corporate objectives. We have put an emphasis on structuring compensation incentives so as to reward clear, easily measured performance goals that closely align their incentives with the long-term interests of our stockholders. Further, we have sought to harmonize the compensation structures of our other employees to conform to our overall compensation philosophy.
Our current compensation programs reflect our startup origins in that they consist primarily of salary and equity awards. Consistent with our historical compensation philosophy, we do not currently provide an annual cash bonus program or any severance provisions for continued cash payments or other benefits upon termination of employment with us.
As the world’s first vertically integrated sustainable energy company, our mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. We design, develop, manufacture and sell high-performance, fully electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems, and also install and maintain such energy systems and sell solar electricity. To achieve our goals, we have designed, and intend to modify as necessary, our compensation and benefits program and philosophy, to attract, retain and incentivize talented, deeply qualified and committed executive officers who share our philosophy and desire to work toward these goals. We believe compensation incentives for executive officers should promote the success of our company and motivate them to pursue corporate objectives. We have put an emphasis on structuring compensation incentives so as to reward clear, easily measured performance goals that closely align their incentives with the long-term interests of our stockholders. Further, we have sought to harmonize the compensation structures of our other employees to conform to our overall compensation philosophy.
Our current compensation programs reflect our startup origins in that they consist primarily of salary and equity awards. Consistent with our historical compensation philosophy, we do not currently provide an annual cash bonus program or any severance provisions for continued cash payments or other benefits upon termination of employment with us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tesla Proxy Statement
2018 CEO Performance Award
Early in 2017, with the 2012 CEO Performance Award heading to substantial completion after having helped Tesla grow its market capitalization to over $55 billion in just over five years, the independent members of the Board began preliminary discussions regarding how to continue to incentivize Mr. Musk to lead Tesla through the next phase of its development. In January 2018, following more than six months of careful analysis and development led by the Compensation Committee, with participation by every independent Board member, the help of Compensia, a national compensation consulting firm, and engagement with and feedback from our largest institutional stockholders, the Board granted the 2018 CEO Performance Award to Mr. Musk. Such grant was subject to approval by a majority of the total votes of Tesla common stock not owned by Mr. Musk or Kimbal Musk cast at a meeting of the stockholders to approve the 2018 CEO Performance Award. On March 21, 2018, such approval was obtained, with approximately 73% of the votes cast by such disinterested shares voting in favor of the 2018 CEO Performance Award.
The 2018 CEO Performance Award is comprised of a 10-year maximum term stock option to purchase 20,264,042 shares of Tesla’s common stock, divided equally among 12 separate tranches that are each equivalent to 1% of the issued and outstanding shares of Tesla’s common stock at the time of grant, at an exercise price of $350.02 per share. Each of the 12 vesting tranches of the 2018 CEO Performance Award vests upon certification by the Board that both (i) the market capitalization milestone for such tranche, which begins at $100 billion for the first tranche and increases by increments of $50 billion thereafter, and (ii) any one of the following 8 operational milestones focused on revenue or 8 operational milestones focused on profitability, has been met:
Early in 2017, with the 2012 CEO Performance Award heading to substantial completion after having helped Tesla grow its market capitalization to over $55 billion in just over five years, the independent members of the Board began preliminary discussions regarding how to continue to incentivize Mr. Musk to lead Tesla through the next phase of its development. In January 2018, following more than six months of careful analysis and development led by the Compensation Committee, with participation by every independent Board member, the help of Compensia, a national compensation consulting firm, and engagement with and feedback from our largest institutional stockholders, the Board granted the 2018 CEO Performance Award to Mr. Musk. Such grant was subject to approval by a majority of the total votes of Tesla common stock not owned by Mr. Musk or Kimbal Musk cast at a meeting of the stockholders to approve the 2018 CEO Performance Award. On March 21, 2018, such approval was obtained, with approximately 73% of the votes cast by such disinterested shares voting in favor of the 2018 CEO Performance Award.
The 2018 CEO Performance Award is comprised of a 10-year maximum term stock option to purchase 20,264,042 shares of Tesla’s common stock, divided equally among 12 separate tranches that are each equivalent to 1% of the issued and outstanding shares of Tesla’s common stock at the time of grant, at an exercise price of $350.02 per share. Each of the 12 vesting tranches of the 2018 CEO Performance Award vests upon certification by the Board that both (i) the market capitalization milestone for such tranche, which begins at $100 billion for the first tranche and increases by increments of $50 billion thereafter, and (ii) any one of the following 8 operational milestones focused on revenue or 8 operational milestones focused on profitability, has been met:
Last edited by despacito; 01-03-2021 at 12:50 AM.
