Tesla Plays the Emotional Blackmail Tune Around Elon Musk
- Published on 30/10/2025 12:59
- Modified on 30/10/2025 13:00
Tesla turns its Annual Meeting into an emotional theater where voting for Elon Musk becomes almost a moral duty.
Tesla’s official account on X posted a rather… peculiar message, a few weeks ahead of the Annual Meeting on November 6th.
In a long message addressed to shareholders, Robyn Denholm, Chair of the Board, emphasizes a fundamental question: “do you want to keep Elon Musk as CEO and motivate him to make Tesla the global leader in autonomous solutions and the most valuable company on the planet?” The angle is clear: voting YES is not merely a choice, it is an imperative to avoid jeopardizing the company’s future.
The text unfolds seven months of a special committee process, resulting in a tailored performance plan linking Elon Musk’s interests with those of the shareholders. In other words, Musk would only be rewarded if he achieves “extraordinary” objectives, implying that Tesla’s survival and valuation depend exclusively on him.
Will Tesla ever be able to do without Elon Musk?
The tone borders on the unreal, or even the grotesque: shareholders are presented with a form of emotional and strategic blackmail, where refusing to approve the proposals would mean jeopardizing Tesla’s future, turning the annual meeting into a near ultimatum. The message is not limited to Musk: the board also asks to vote for the re-election of three board members, a sine qua non condition to maintain tailored governance, deemed essential.
This communication illustrates Tesla’s uniqueness, where strategy and governance mix with an almost theatrical narrative, placing one leader at the center of the company’s fate. The absurdity appears in the insistent repetition. Voting for Musk and the board is presented as the only way to ensure global success, financial value, and even the “social good.”
You might be interestedin this article:
In short, Tesla turns a classic governance act into an almost emotional appeal, flattering shareholders’ ambitions and fears. An approach that is both innovative and surreal, raising questions about the boundary between strategic communication and psychological manipulation.
ALSO READ: Tesla Model S and X: More Range, but Aging Models
This page is translated from the original post "Tesla joue la partition du chantage affectif autour d’Elon Musk" in French.
We also suggestthese articles:
Also read
