Copyright Benzinga
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praised his former colleague, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, while weighing in on his controversial $1 trillion compensation package. TSLA is encountering selling pressure. Check out the latest moves here. Dismisses Rumors of Altercations With Musk When asked about his rumored past altercation with Musk during his appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday, Bessent quipped that it “can’t be true because he didn’t have a collar.” He went on to dismiss the incident as “old news,” while adding that both he and Musk were “very passionate about what needed to be done with government.” See Also: Elon Musk Says Bill Gates Is ‘Not Strong’ In Science, Recalling Visit To Tesla Factory Where He Dismissed Long-Range Semitrucks As ‘Impossible’ “He did a fantastic job in setting a trajectory for downsizing government, which we've continued,” Bessent said. “Spending is down over the past two quarters. We're going to keep it down.” Musk’s Pay Decisions For ‘Shareholders To Decide’ Speaking on Musk’s pay package that is set for a vote this week, Bessent said, “I think it's great that Elon's back in the private sector,” adding that “He's [Musk] one of the great entrepreneurs” of our generation, but said that this matter was “up for the shareholders to decide.” He, however, emphasized Musk's track record of innovation across industries, saying, “The amount of value that he's created for his investors and for his shareholders is phenomenal. And it's across a range of industries.” Tesla’s $1 Trillion Pay Package Musk's compensation plan is up for a shareholder vote on Thursday at Tesla's annual meeting, with nearly $1 trillion in stock awards on the line, contingent on the company hitting aggressive performance targets, leading up to a market cap of $8.5 trillion. Besides this, Tesla, under Musk’s leadership, is expected to hit targets such as selling 20 million cars a year, rolling out 1 million robotaxis, and deploying 1 million Optimus humanoid robots. Tesla shares were down 5.15% on Tuesday, closing at $444.26, and are up 0.74% overnight. The stock scores high on Momentum and Quality, with a favorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms. Click here for deeper insights into the stock, its peers and competitors. Read More: Tesla Sees Demand Drop In Europe In October: Here’s How The Company Performed In 9 Key Markets Photo Courtesy: Maxim Elramsisy On Shutterstock.com
