NPR. This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Adrienne Ma. And I'm Waylon Wong. We had some news come out last

week about Tesla that made me do a spit take. I'm talking spraying morning coffee all over

my laptop screen. Tesla has proposed a new pay package for CEO Elon Musk that would award him

anywhere from $88 billion to about a trillion dollars if he hits certain goals. This would be

unprecedented compensation for a CEO. It's not a done deal, though.

Tesla shareholders have to vote on this proposal in November,

and that's when the company holds its annual meeting.

A shareholder vote might sound like a great exercise in, you know, corporate democracy,

a chance for a Tesla investor to have their say.

But it's not that simple.

Today on the show, we look at what it takes for a shareholder to get their voice heard,

and the shifting power dynamics between shareholders and corporate leaders.

Plus, we talk to one Tesla investor agitating for changes at the company.

Earlier this year, Elizabeth Steiner composed a strongly worded letter to the chair of Tesla's board of directors.

Let's just say she had some notes.

Tesla value continues to plummet, and there are very good reasons. And one of them is the lack of an

effective board who holds Mr. Musk accountable. Elizabeth is the treasurer for the state of Oregon.

She oversees $140 billion in assets, mostly the retirement fund for public employees.

About 1% of Oregon's investments are in Tesla, and she's been concerned

about the company for a while now. It's gone from bad to worse. Her next step was to team up with some

other like-minded institutional investors. Together, they own around 8 million shares in Tesla,

and they all signed a group letter about deficiencies they saw in how the board was overseeing Tesla.

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