Elon Musk has said Tesla will “move immediately” to hold a shareholder vote to transfer the electric vehicle maker’s state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas, after his pay package has come under threat.
On Wednesday, the billionaire asked his nearly 171m followers on X: “Should Tesla change its state of incorporation to Texas, home of its physical headquarters?”
Of those who voted, over 87 per cent said ‘yes’, leading Musk to say, in a separate post, that “Tesla will move immediately to hold a shareholder vote to transfer state of incorporation to Texas.”
The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, posted in support of Musk. He wrote: “Elon, it’s over. The election desk is declaring a landslide victory for Texas.”
It comes a day after a judge in Delaware ruled that Elon Musk’s $56bn (£44.2bn) Tesla pay package is excessive, describing it as “an unfathomable sum,” before striking it down.
The package allows Musk heavy discounts on stock options provided a number of financial and operational goals are met.
In response, Musk said: “Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware.”
In 2021 Tesla relocated its headquarters to Texas from California’s San Francisco Bay area. Tesla’s share price is down almost 25 per cent in the year to date due to sluggish demand for its robot-like cars.
The SpaceX owner is currently trying to increase his 13 per cent stake in Tesla.