$1 Trillion Wealth Fund Opposes Elon Musk’s Role As Chairman

The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), says it backed calls from Tesla shareholders to remove Elon Musk as chairman of the automaker.

The $1 trillion fund believes dividing the roles of chief executive and chairman at Tesla will boost corporate governance. NBIM also opposed the re-election of board member Antonio Gracias but threw its support behind the reappointment of James Murdoch and Kimbal Musk as board members, Reuters reports.

This isn’t the first time the wealth fund has been against certain aspects of Elon Musk’s grasp on power at Tesla. In March, NBIM voted against Musk’s pay proposal which could see him earn roughly $55 billion if Tesla becomes worth $650 billion and delivers more revenue than Procter & Gamble.

Elon Musk has been raising eyebrows recently.

NBIM currently owns 1.4 per cent of all Tesla’s globally listed shares and held a 0.48 per cent stake in the company at the end of 2017, worth approximately $252.5 million.

At Tesla’s recent annual shareholders meeting, a majority of those that voted elected to retain Musk as chairman.

During the event, Musk made a series of important announcements. For example, he said that the second-gen Tesla Roadster will have a ‘Space X’ performance option, production of the $35,000 Model 3 will start in early 2019, released a new Model Y teaser, and said Tesla will probably create a compact electric vehicle within five years.