Norway fund opposes Musk pay package up to $1 trillion at Tesla AGM

Norway's sovereign wealth fund said Tuesday it will oppose a proposed compensation package for Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk that could award him up to $1 trillion over 10 years, setting the stage for a contentious vote at the automaker's annual meeting on Thursday. The fund's announcement adds to a split among large shareholders over a plan that would grant Musk a series of equity awards tied to aggressive performance targets.

The proposal, put forward by Tesla management, would allocate Musk up to 12 percent of the company's outstanding shares across a dozen tranches if the company meets specified goals, including large increases in vehicle production, operating profit and market value. Payouts would occur only after those milestones are achieved, but if fully realized the awards could be worth as much as $1 trillion over a decade, according to the proposal.

Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages Norway's Government Pension Fund Global, said it will vote against the package, citing concerns about the overall size of the award, shareholder dilution and "lack of mitigation of key person risk." The fund holds a roughly 1.16 percent stake in Tesla, which it...