Tesla (TSLA) wins SEC OK to auto-vote retail shares with board ahead of SpaceX merger
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Tesla received SEC approval for an 'Issuer Voluntary Retail Voting Program,' allowing retail shareholders to automatically vote their shares in line with the board's recommendations at all future meetings until they opt out. This no-action request was approved on September 29 after months of discussions. The move comes amid speculation about a potential SpaceX merger and Elon Musk's compensation package, as Tesla has not yet scheduled its 2026 annual meeting.
Tesla (TSLA) got the SEC’s blessing today to let retail shareholders sign up for a standing instruction that automatically votes their shares the way Tesla’s board recommends, at every meeting, until they cancel it.
The timing is hard to ignore. Tesla still hasn’t scheduled its 2026 annual meeting, and Elon Musk keeps teasing a SpaceX merger that could hand him a big chunk of his $1 trillion pay package without hitting a single operational goal.
What the SEC approved
Tesla’s general counsel Brandon Ehrhart and Sullivan & Cromwell sent the SEC’s Office of Mergers and Acquisitions a no-action request dated September 29. The SEC signed off the same day. A footnote in Tesla’s letter explains the quick turnaround: it followed “months-long” discussions with SEC staff.
Tesla calls it an “Issuer Voluntary Retail Voting Program.” Retail investors opt in, and from then on their votes are submitted “based on the recommendation of the company’s board of directors.” That’s the only instruction on the menu. There’s no option to vote against the board or to follow any other policy.