Tesla boss Elon Musk says shareholder votes on a record-breaking payout to the multi-billionaire and a plan to move the firm’s legal headquarters to Texas are “currently passing by wide margins”.
Tesla shareholders have been voting on several proposals, including one that could confirm a pay deal for Mr Musk, that was worth $56bn (£43.8bn) when it was first agreed in 2018.
The company is due to make an official announcement on the result of the vote at a meeting on Thursday.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BBC News.
In a post on social platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Musk thanked his supporters.
However, legal experts say it is not clear if a court that blocked the deal will accept the re-vote, which is not binding, and allow the company to restore the pay package.
Tesla pay fight tests power of Elon Musk’s mystique
Earlier this year, a Delaware judge voided the compensation deal after a small investor sued.
The judge ruled the sum was “unfair” and the process for determining the package, by a board dominated by Mr Musk, was “deeply flawed”.
Tesla called the decision “fundamentally unfair, and inconsistent with the will of the stockholders”.
The company then submitted the deal to another vote – and asked its shareholders to back a plan to reincorporate the company outside the state of Delaware.
The board has said Mr Musk deserves the package because Tesla achieved its ambitious targets under his leadership and that it is necessary to ensure he remains dedicated to the company.
Tesla executives also expressed support for the package in social media posts, saying that Mr Musk is crucial to the company’s success.
Meanwhile, Mr Musk promised a personal tour of Tesla’s factory in Texas to some shareholders who cast votes.
The package – worth an estimated 300 times what the top-earning boss in the US made last year – won backing from 73% of shareholders who voted six years ago.
BBC