Elon Musk […] shows what America produces. Elon […] is taking on General Motors and Ford and Toyota – all these people who’ve got all this stuff. And he’s got an idea. And he’s winning. That’s America. […] You can’t dream it up. […] It’s astounding.” (Charlie Rose Conversations, April 14, 2022)

It is a strange world in which lawyers who sue companies propose to be paid like superstars, while executives who build them can’t. The Delaware Chancery Court apparently views lawyers as entrepreneurs and CEOs as mere bureaucrats. Perhaps this is why Tesla’s board recommended shareholders vote to move the company to Texas, where respect for individualism is baked into the culture.” (Wall Street Journal; Opinion, May 13, 2024)

This is a man who’s created more money than almost anybody else, created great wealth, and has a pay package that […] could have left him nothing. […] I find that this is actually appalling that this man has to even be subjected to this, but you know what, it’s America and judges are powerful.” (CNBC; Squawk on the Street, May 15, 2024)

It soon became pretty clear that Elon was directly behind that culture of pragmatic innovation, percolating through all aspects of the company. […] [T]hrough all these chapters, news headlines and other difficult company-wide moments, and while landing rockets on drone ships in the ocean, Elon was still sitting with us in a room every week, often more, with the only objective of building things that will change humanity for the better. […] Whether at Tesla or not, I’d say the same: without Elon, none of any of these amazing things would have ever happened. I can only imagine what a lesser future we’d be living without his involvement and dedication.” (X Post, June 9, 2024)

[W]hen [the 2018 CEO Performance Award] came out, […] the bearishness around the targets was, was immense. People never thought they could hit these different targets. The different […] EBITDA goals, […] the different […] goals […] around the number of vehicles produced. […] [E]ven I was surprised, [despite] being very bullish back then, on how fast they hit these targets. I think you should be compensated that way.” (Bloomberg Surveillance, April 17, 2024)

The truth is I thought the comp plan was the most “skin in the game” in history. I still do. I have criticized CEO comp a lot — but not this package. Without the incentives, [Elon] could have easily stepped down as CEO and then where would have Tesla been? Admittedly, I was skeptical he’d hit the most ambitious targets of the package. But he did — having put his entire comp at risk. Isn’t that what we want when we say “pay for performance?” (X post, January 31, 2024)

[…] [P]lainly, Elon is critical for Tesla’s success in AI. It is his combination of deep technical understanding, insane perseverance and relentless hard work that have positioned Tesla to be a leader in real-world AI. Elon’s technical intuition to make these important decisions way before others see it is unmatched. If not for Elon’s ambition, Tesla might have dwindled to become just another car company. In the future, fully autonomous cars and useful household robots will be common place and the world will think that this was how it was always supposed to be. Until then, we need Elon Musk to push the frontier, because he sees it already.” (X Post, June 8, 2024)

After reviewing the tenets of the proposal, we believe that approval of the Company’s redomestication to Texas is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. With Texas being the focal point of Tesla’s identity and the similarity of the Texas and Delaware corporate laws, the redomestication will align its business culture, strategy and mission. Most importantly, with the ruling of the Delaware Court regarding the shareholder approved 2018 CEO Performance Award, we believe that the redomestication will provide the appropriate jurisdiction when it comes to litigation forum as it is set to transition to a specialized business court system.” (Egan-Jones, May 28, 2024)

We believe the 2018 plan demonstrated strong alignment with the interests of long-term investors, and it was followed by an impressive, validating period of value creation.” (Wall Street Journal, April 17, 2024)

The only way Tesla’s alive is because of this guy. […] [T]here was a contract that was arranged, arrived at, and agreed to, and how do you go back on a contract? That doesn’t seem fair. And the only reason this company is surviving is because the guy slept on the floor under his desk.” (CNBC; Squawk Box, April 25, 2024)

As a shareholder I don’t think we should be paying outrageous legal fees [to plaintiff’s lawyers who bring legal action against the company], but we should be happy to meet a commitment we signed up for after remarkable corporate performance leading to huge creation of value for shareholders.” (Financial Times, May 23, 2024)

When [Elon] entered into the pay deal six years ago, many industry analysts doubted the milestone goals the board set for him were achievable. They were. Tesla was then worth a bit more than General Motors. Today its value exceeds that of the Big Three, Honda and Toyota combined.”  (Wall Street Journal; Opinion, May 13, 2024)

Tesla is far ahead in self-driving cars, […] but every single car, someday will have to have autonomous capability. […] It’s safer, it’s more convenient, […] it’s more fun to drive.” (Yahoo! Finance, May 23, 2024)

Tesla is a faith-based stock…It is really about investors’ faith in Elon Musk’s ability to deliver visionary ideas. And for most of this company’s history, that faith has been richly rewarded.” (Bloomberg News, May 3, 2024)

It’s very rare where you have a judge effectively overruling a shareholder vote. I actually can’t remember a situation like this, and this is one of the reasons why I think there were so many people, frankly, who were outraged by the [Delaware] judge’s decision.” (CNBC; Squawk Box, April 17, 2024)

Elon Musk is deeply respected by everyone who works in his company, by anyone who owns a Tesla; people who own Teslas love their Tesla. […] [A]nyone who knows and cares about space exploration, knows and cares about Elon Musk. […] Go Elon Musk.” (CNBC Make It, November 20, 2018)