Tesla Board Gives Musk $29 Billion Award Despite The Mess He's Made

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Good morning! It's Monday, August 4, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift, your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, Elon Musk gets a gift worthy billions from Tesla's committee arsenic it struggles successful China continue, we're still a agelong ways distant from a waste and acquisition woody betwixt Canada and nan U.S. and Foxconn still has large ambitions for nan U.S. erstwhile it sells disconnected its Lordstown, Ohio plant.

There's nary amended measurement to commencement nan day, friends.

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In a normal world, nan type of CEO who puts retired bad, half-baked products, doesn't present connected promises and tanks nan brand's estimation by aligning themselves pinch 1 of nan astir divisive political figures of our clip conscionable to person a very nationalist falling retired pinch that guy, doesn't get a prize of immoderate benignant from their company. Well, Tesla doesn't beryllium successful a normal world, and that's why its committee conscionable approved a stock grant to CEO Elon Musk worthy $29 billion.

The move comes aft a Delaware tribunal ruling voided his original 2018 $50-ish cardinal salary package arsenic being unfair to shareholders. The judge said nan board's support process was flawed and unfair to shareholders. They astir apt person a point. From Reuters:

Musk kicked disconnected an entreaty successful March against nan order, claiming a little tribunal judge made aggregate ineligible errors successful rescinding nan grounds compensation. Earlier this year, Tesla said its committee had formed a typical committee to see immoderate compensation matters involving Musk, without disclosing details.

Tesla is astatine a turning constituent arsenic Musk, its largest shareholder pinch a 13% stake, shifts attraction from a promised affordable EV level to robotaxis and humanoid robots, positioning nan institution much arsenic an AI and robotics patient than an automaker.

The caller grant is designed to gradually boost Musk's voting power, thing he and shareholders person consistently said was cardinal to keeping him focused connected Tesla's mission, nan typical committee said successful nan filing.

"While we admit Elon's business ventures, interests and different imaginable demands connected his clip and attraction are extended and wide-ranging ... we are assured that this grant will incentivize Elon to stay astatine Tesla," nan committee said successful a regulatory filing connected Monday.

It added that if nan Delaware courts afloat reinstate nan 2018 CEO Performance Award, nan caller interim assistance will either beryllium forfeited aliases offset and location will beryllium nary "double dip," it added.

This package will theoretically support Musk tied to Tesla done astatine slightest 2027. He'll request to instrumentality astir aliases it won't really vest.

Of course, each of this is happening arsenic nan institution struggles much than it ever has before. The banal has mislaid astir a 4th of its worth truthful acold this twelvemonth arsenic income proceed to tumble owed to an aging lineup and Musk's devious governmental antics. It besides has to woody pinch beardown title successful nan U.S. from GM, Hyundai and BMW, and don't moreover get maine started connected China.

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OK, you've sewage maine started connected China. Nice going, because it's a goddamn messiness for Tesla correct now. Shipments from nan automaker's Shanghai mill continued to autumn successful July arsenic nan institution moved conscionable 67,886 vehicles past month. It's not presently known what percent of that number was exports and what was home sales. Regardless, its an 8.4% alteration from a twelvemonth earlier.

Tesla's flagship works successful China has seen shipments diminution six retired of nan 7 months, for which information will beryllium disposable successful 2025. You tin convey beardown home-grown title from companies for illustration BYD and Xiaomi for nan backslide. The dip for Tesla comes contempt nan truth that wide EV and hybrid income are up successful nan country. From Bloomberg:

Overall income of EVs and hybrids successful China grew 25% successful July to 1.18 cardinal units, defying what's typically a slow play for car sales.

[...]

Tesla, which has a constricted line-up successful nan world's largest EV market, is preparing to motorboat a longer, six-seat type of nan Model Y SUV successful China.

I'm really not judge a somewhat stretched Model Y will beryllium capable to correct nan vessel successful China. Honestly, I'm not judge if thing is going to hole nan issues Tesla has. It's not really a authorities thing, either. The large rumor it faces is nan elemental truth that its title is conscionable better.

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The U.S. and Canada still aren't peculiarly adjacent to locking successful a waste and acquisition deal, according to Ottawa's main negotiator. The worrying news comes conscionable a time aft President Trump imposed higher tariffs connected imports from Canada. From Automotive News:

Trump — who had group an August 1 deadline for an statement — signed an executive bid expanding tariffs connected Canadian equipment to 35 percent from 25 percent connected each products not covered by nan U.S.-Mexico-Canada waste and acquisition agreement. That exemption fundamentally intends automotive waste and acquisition is not affected by nan increase.

Prime Minister Mark Carney insisted connected nan talks to reset bilateral relations, saying Trump's tariffs person upended decades-old trading and information ties. The negotiations, though, person truthful acold produced little.

Canadian furniture curate Dominic LeBlanc, successful complaint of U.S. waste and acquisition relations, said Canada had ever made clear it would only judge a bully deal.

The White House told reporters that it was Canada's nonaccomplishment to extremity fentanyl smuggling and reside U.S. concerns astir waste and acquisition barriers arsenic nan reasons a waste and acquisition statement hadn't been reached yet.

Folks wrong nan Trump Administration are besides ticked disconnected that Canada has refused to driblet its ain countermeasures, which were first imposed by erstwhile Prime Minister (and existent Katy Perry emotion interest) Justin Trudeau. Mark Carney, Canada's existent PM, won an April predetermination by promising to guidelines up to Trump.

Foxconn

Foxconn is trading its monolithic former General Motors Lordstown, Ohio, plant that it bought conscionable 3 years ago, but it has nary plans to time off nan U.S. Instead, it says its going to reinvest proceeds of its $88 cardinal asking value to grow its U.S. business.

The world's largest statement shaper of iPhones is group to waste nan site's onshore and buildings to an entity called Crescent Dune — a institution it described arsenic an "existing business partner." From Automotive News:

In abstracted transactions Foxconn is besides trading 1 batch of machinery and instrumentality connected behalf of its EV Asset Management subsidiary to Crescent Dune for $257.0 cardinal and a 2nd batch of nan instrumentality and machinery from its EV System LLC to Crescent Dune for $30.0 million.

[Foxconn] said it plans to transmission nan $375.0 cardinal successful full proceeds into "new business areas."

It did not place nan caller businesses. But imaginable areas of finance whitethorn see nan unreality and networking information halfway business, which Foxconn is prioritizing arsenic a world maturation segment.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., arsenic Foxconn is officially called, said successful a abstracted connection it plans to proceed to operating astatine nan Lordstown tract and still values nan automotive segment.

"Foxconn will beryllium progressive successful nan manufacturing of products for customers astatine nan Lordstown facility," nan institution said. "The U.S. is simply a cardinal automotive marketplace and we are committed to customers and suppliers successful this market. Foxconn will beryllium capable to quickly ramp up automotive accumulation to meet customer request erstwhile required."

It's not wholly clear precisely what nan works is going to build now. It has nan capacity to pump retired hundreds of thousands of vehicles each year, and it was connected gait to beryllium doing truthful arsenic early arsenic adjacent year, but this waste intends that plans person decidedly changed.

History.com

It's difficult to believe, but "Talladega Nights" is now a 19-year-old movie. In an era of big-budget workplace comedies, there's a existent statement that this is nan champion one. Of course, since it's astir cars and came retired astatine specified a formative property for maine (I was conscionable astir to move 11 erstwhile this deed theaters), it has ever held a very typical spot successful my heart. If you want to study much astir it, caput complete to History.com.

This opus played for a divided 2nd successful nan inheritance of an section of "The Office," and now I've sewage to presume I americium responsible for 99% of nan plays this little-known Indie opus from 2002 has gotten connected Apple Music complete nan past week aliases so.