Dive Brief:
- Tesla shareholders have approved a compensation package worth $2.6 billion for CEO Elon Musk, reports CNN Money.
- Under the stock option plan, Musk will receive 1/12th of the options every time the company meets a set of goals by 2018. For Musk to receive all options, Tesla must become worth $650 billion, according to Fortune.
- The move could make Musk the richest person alive, stripping Jeff Bezos of that title, reports say.
Dive Insight:
The news of Musk's compensation plan comes as employees across the country are finding out for the first time how their pay stacks up against their CEO's. Some employers have taken steps to prepare for backlash, providing preemptive communication around the disclosures; in a recent survey, many said they're having leadership answer employees' questions, some prepped managers for discussions with workers and a handful said they had drafted a detailed communication plan to inform workers. About 14% said they didn't plan to inform workers at all.
Companies with large CEO-to-worker pay ratios may have good reason to worry about employees' reactions, too. A 2016 Glassdoor survey found that highly compensated CEOs at large, publicly held companies receive lower approval ratings from employees than CEOs who aren't paid as much.
Communication may be key, but so is ensuring that employees, who carry out the strategies that make companies successful, know that they're valued and feel that they're compensated fairly. Tesla, which is already facing several labor complaints from its workers, may have its work cut out for it.