Tesla Advertises on X Platform to Rally Support for Musk's Trillion-Dollar Compensation Package

According to foreign media reports, Tesla is currently running ads on X, the social media platform owned by CEO Elon Musk, to garner shareholder support for a vote on Musk's $1 trillion stock option compensation plan.

Under Musk's leadership, Tesla has consistently taken a clear stand against advertising. He has explicitly stated, "I hate advertising. Other companies spend money on advertising and media manipulation, but Tesla focuses solely on the product itself."

Image source: Tesla

However, this stance changed after Musk acquired Twitter (later renamed X), which is highly dependent on advertising revenue. Subsequently, he pushed Tesla to engage in advertising, but after a brief attempt, the company quickly terminated or significantly reduced its advertising expenditure.

Recently, it has been reported that Tesla has resumed advertising, starting with a small number of Google ads to encourage shareholders to vote for Musk's unprecedented new compensation plan worth up to $1 trillion.

Nowadays, Tesla is launching a comprehensive marketing offensive, starting to advertise on social media platforms, including X, which is owned by Musk, as well as Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit. On one hand, this is to persuade shareholders to support Musk's compensation plan, and on the other hand, to push shareholders to agree to Tesla's issuance of new stocks to fulfill the aforementioned compensation plan.

Tesla's board previously stated that whether shareholders support the compensation plan will determine the future direction of Tesla. Musk went a step further, claiming that this decision will affect "the future of the entire world."

Musk recently stated that his compensation plan is not primarily about money, but rather about control over Tesla. He said: "It's not about 'compensation'. The key is that if we are going to produce millions of robots, I need to have enough influence over Tesla to ensure safety. I cannot accept a future where aggressive advisory firms, that do not even hold Tesla stock, can easily push me out."

Previously, Musk had "threatened" Tesla shareholders, stating that if he could not obtain 25% control of the company, he would cease developing AI products at Tesla — despite having admitted that these products are crucial to the company's future.