Tesla Shareholders Approve Elon Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Package

Summary

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WSJ What’s News – PM Edition

Episode: Tesla Shareholders Approve Elon Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Package

Date: November 6, 2025
Host: Alex Osila
Podcast: The Wall Street Journal – What’s News

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Overview

This episode covers the day’s top business, market, and political developments, zeroing in on breaking financial stories. Core topics include the approval of Elon Musk’s historic $1 trillion Tesla pay package, cooling labor trends amid widespread layoffs, the turmoil in the electric vehicle (EV) space with Ford reconsidering its F-150 Lightning, shifts in private market investment access for average investors, and the retirement of political icon Nancy Pelosi.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. U.S. Job Market: Signs of Gradual Cooling ([01:04]–[03:06])

• Layoff Trends: Employers have announced over a million job cuts so far in 2025, a 65% increase from the previous year. The trend spans major companies like GM, IBM, UPS, and Amazon.
• Interpreting the Data:
  • Harriet Tory (WSJ Economics Correspondent):
    • Companies cite cost-cutting, the rise of AI, and federal government job cuts as major drivers.
    • Private data sources are scrutinized more heavily due to a lack of government reports during the shutdown.
      • “The main takeaway is that demand for labor is slowing... But things don't seem to be getting dramatically worse. It's more of a gradual cooling.” ([01:52])
    • No sense of panic among economists; more a watchful waiting as the market cools rather than crashes.

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2. Ford May Scrap F-150 Lightning, America’s Major EV Casualty ([03:06]–[04:47])

• Changing EV Landscape: Ford is reportedly considering discontinuing the electric F-150 Lightning due to financial losses and slowing EV demand.
• Challenges Faced:
  • Sharon Turlop (WSJ Automotive Reporter):
    • Battery range issues in extreme weather, towing, and the lack of charging infrastructure in rural/suburban areas limit appeal.
    • “When they're in really cold weather, when they're towing or carrying heavy loads, that battery range, it's reduced...it's just not as easy to find a charger.” ([03:45])
  • Market is shifting towards smaller, more affordable EVs as government incentives recede.
    • “EV growth is going to be much slower, so it's gonna be more of a creep...” ([04:22])

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3. Breaking: Tesla Shareholders Approve Elon Musk’s Record $1 Trillion Pay Package ([04:47])

• Shareholders gave the green light to Musk’s unprecedented pay proposal.
• The vote doubles as a referendum on Musk’s controversial leadership and his plans to pivot Tesla towards humanoid robots and AI.
• Musk had openly threatened to quit Tesla if shareholders rejected the package, raising the stakes for the company’s future direction.

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4. Broader Headlines & Market Update

Flight Cancellations ([05:13])

• FAA restrictions will affect major U.S. airports, causing up to 1,800 flight cancellations in a single day, with more disruptions expected.

Sports Betting Market Shakeup ([07:20])

• ESPN and Penn Entertainment have canceled their partnership in sports betting due to lack of traction; ESPN will shift to a multiyear deal with DraftKings, reflecting DraftKings and FanDuel’s dominance.

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5. Main Street Investors Get More Access to Private Companies ([07:38]–[10:44])

• Schwab Moves In: Charles Schwab is buying Forge Global, opening doors for its clients (initially those with over $1 million in assets) to invest in shares of private companies.
• Motivation:
  • Hannah Aaron Lang (WSJ Markets Reporter):
    • “Some of the biggest companies out there today ... OpenAI or Elon Musk's SpaceX ... are these rapidly growing companies ... Investors want access to these potentially very high returns.” ([08:14])
    • There is client demand for access to high-potential, influential companies before they go public.
• Who Can Invest:
  • Only accredited investors—those with over $1 million in net assets (excluding their home) or $200,000+ individual income—will be eligible initially.
• Risks Highlighted:
  • Private companies don’t face the same transparency and regulatory disclosures as public ones. This could expose less-wealthy investors to higher risk.
  • “We have spent decades ... regulating our financial markets. Publicly traded companies ... have to disclose their financials every quarter... With private markets, those regulations simply aren't in place.” ([09:49])
    • Quote: “It is a very high potential reward, high potential risk situation.” ([09:49])

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6. Market Recap and Wall Street Moves ([10:51])

• Tech stocks led declines; Nasdaq down 1.9%, S&P just over 1% lower, Dow also down.
• Notable: Nvidia has suffered its worst three-day trading stretch since April, down 9%.
• Goldman Sachs promoted 638 employees to managing director, boosting its top ranks.

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7. Policy Update – End of IRS Direct File ([11:28])

• IRS is discontinuing its free tax filing program; the Biden administration’s initiative is being phased out by the Trump administration in favor of private sector alternatives, sparking backlash from Democrats.

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8. Nancy Pelosi to Retire from Congress ([12:04]–[12:19])

• Historic Congresswoman and first female Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, announced she’ll be stepping down at the end of her term.
• Memorable moment replayed:
  • Nancy Pelosi (2011):
    • “I'm grateful to my colleagues for their commitment to equality, which is both our heritage and our hope, giving me the historic honor of being the first woman speaker of the House.” ([12:04])
• Pelosi’s legacy includes guiding major healthcare reforms and being a major adversary to President Trump.

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Notable Quotes

• Harriet Tory:
  • “The main takeaway is that demand for labor is slowing...it's more of a gradual cooling.” ([01:52])
• Sharon Turlop:
  • “When they're in really cold weather, when they're towing or carrying heavy loads, that battery range, it's reduced...it's just not as easy to find a charger.” ([03:45])
  • “EV growth is going to be much slower, so it's gonna be more of a creep...” ([04:22])
• Hannah Aaron Lang:
  • “It is a very high potential reward, high potential risk situation.” ([09:49])
• Nancy Pelosi:
  • “I'm grateful to my colleagues for their commitment to equality, which is both our heritage and our hope, giving me the historic honor of being the first woman speaker of the House.” ([12:04])

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:04] — U.S. job market update (Harriet Tory)
• [03:06] — Ford’s F-150 Lightning in jeopardy (Sharon Turlop)
• [04:47] — Tesla Musk pay package approval, implications
• [07:38] — Main Street and private market investing (Hannah Aaron Lang)
• [10:51] — Markets, Goldman Sachs promotions, IRS tax program change
• [12:04] — Nancy Pelosi’s retirement announcement

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Tone and Style

• Factual, brisk, and analytical—typical of WSJ reporting
• Straightforward, focusing on implications for investors and consumers
• Occasional direct reporting and conversation with subject experts

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This summary captures all key themes and content details for listeners who missed the episode, focusing on high-impact business and political stories as they unfold.

Transcript

[Dynatrace Announcer]

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[Alex Osila]

Why Schwab is the latest Wall street firm to let its customers invest in private companies. Plus, Ford is considering scrapping the EV truck it once described as the modern Model T. And this longtime lawmaker is retiring from Congress.

[Nancy Pelosi]

I'm grateful to my colleagues for their commitment to equality, which is both our heritage and our hope, giving me the historic honor of being the first woman speaker of the House.

[Alex Osila]

It's Thursday, November 6th. I'm Alex Osila for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of what's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today. Employers are reporting more than a million job cuts so far this year, a 65% increase from last year. That data is from consulting firm Challenger Gray and Christmas, which tracks job losses each month and released its latest update this I'm joined now by WSJ economics correspondent Harriet Tory to talk about the state of the U.S. jobs market. Harriet, headlines over the past few weeks alone have shown that companies from General Motors to IBM to UPS and Amazon are cutting thousands of jobs. What does the stream of layoff announcements tell us about the job market at the moment?

[Harriet Tory]

The main takeaway is that demand for labor is slowing. Companies cite different reasons for this. Some are saying that they're cutting costs. Others are saying that this is due to AI. Some have even said this is because of federal government layoffs that are filtering down to contractors and so on.

[Alex Osila]

This report comes out a day after payroll processor ADP said that the US added 42,000 private sector jobs in October.

[Harriet Tory]

Well, ADP only looks at the private sector, so it doesn't take into account the impact of government layoffs. These numbers from alternative data sources do come out every month, but they're getting special scrutiny now because we just are not getting the usual stream of government economic data during the shutdown, and that is really leaving economists and financial market analysts scrambling to try and find clues on how the economy is doing. So putting all of these pieces together from different private data sources, we are just seeing this picture of continued slowing in the labor market. One thing that was reassuring is that things don't seem to be getting dramatically worse. Economists that I've been talking to today have said I'm not panicking. You know, this is not a dramatic deceleration. It's more of a gradual cooling. When we have seen recessions in the past, things do tend to change very quickly. So I think everybody's keeping a very close eye on what's happening right now.

[Alex Osila]

That was WSJ reporter Harriet Tory. Thanks so much, Harriet. Thank you. We're exclusively reporting that Ford executives are discussing whether to scrap the electric version of the company's F150 pickup, the Lightning. That's according to people familiar with the matter. Ford once described this vehicle as a modern Model T because of its importance to the company. And if the automaker decides to scrap it, the truck would be America's first major EV casualty. Sharon Turlop, who covers the automotive industry for the Journal, said the Lightning was a hot seller, at least at first. But the trucks are expensive and buyers had concerns.

[Sharon Turlop]

The reality was with the Lightning and also generally with these vehicles, when they're in really cold weather, when they're towing or carrying heavy loads, that battery range, it's reduced. And also if you think about where there are chargers there, those are plentiful in urban areas. But when you get out to the country and even more into some of the suburbs in the middle of the country, it's just not as easy to find a charger for your vehicle.

[Alex Osila]

The truck is a money loser for Ford. As demand for EVs cools overall and government incentives and clean air mandates fall away, the auto industry is reckoning with that changed environment.

[Sharon Turlop]

I don't think there's anyone saying EVs are just going away and nobody's going to drive them. What we're hearing a lot of is EV growth is going to be much slower, so it's gonna be more of a creep. As to this explosive growth and that the EVs people buy are not, at least in the near term, going to be these very big trucks. It's going to be smaller, more affordable cars that aren't. These massive investments.

[Alex Osila]

Ford paused production of the truck last month amid an aluminum shortage and has said it would start it up again, quote, at the right time. People familiar with the matter say the company is weighing whether to keep that plant idle. And this just in. Tesla shareholders have approved Elon Musk's $1 trillion pay package. The measure was hotly debated with some large shareholders taking opposing sides. The vote was largely seen as a referendum on the EV company's longtime leader and his vision to shift Tesla's focus to humanoid robots and artificial intelligence. Musk, who is also CEO of SpaceX and XAI, had threatened on social media to leave Tesla if the measure was rejected. For the latest on this breaking story, check out WSJ.com and in case you missed it, we dropped a new episode of what's News and Earnings earlier today about automakers from the US and overseas. We look at how they're dealing with slower EV demand tariffs and more. That's in the feed. Now we know more about the flight restrictions from the Federal Aviation Administration. A preliminary list viewed by the Journal shows that the nation's biggest, busiest airports will be hit, including those serving Boston, New York City, Washington, Dallas, Denver and Seattle, leading to thousands of flight cancellations. Aviation data provider Cirium says as many as 1800 flights could be affected tomorrow alone and the number of cuts will increase through the middle of next week. If you're traveling soon and aren't sure how the flight traffic reduction might affect you, check out our story. We'll leave a link in the show Notes coming up, Want to buy a stake in a private company? Increasingly you can more on that after the break.

[Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins]

Hi, I'm Christopher Mims. And I'm Tim Higgins. We're the hosts of the Wall Street Journal's Bold Names podcast. On our show, we bring the bold name companies featured in the pages of the Wall Street Journal to life through real conversations with the people that lead them. If you're looking for more news and insights that bring you inside the C suite, consider becoming a subscriber to the Wall street journal. Visit subscribe WSJ.com Bold names to subscribe.

[Alex Osila]

ESPN and Pen Entertainment are ending their sports betting agreement early after failing to gain significant market share. Instead, ESPN will launch a new multi year deal with industry leader DraftKings. The move is a sign of the grip DraftKings and its competitor FanDuel have on the growing sports betting market. It's long been the case that it was really only institutional investors and the super rich who invested in startups and other promising companies that weren't publicly traded. But smaller investors increasingly want in on the action and more Wall street firms are making this possible now. Charles Schwab is joining in, saying today that it is buying Forge Global, one of the major platforms that allows investors to buy shares in private companies. Hannah Aaron Lang covers markets for the Journal and is here now with More Hannah, why are more Main street investors wanting to buy?

[Hannah Aaron Lang]

Yeah, so I think this has a lot to do with the fact that some of the biggest companies out there today, think about names like OpenAI or Elon Musk's SpaceX, for example, are these rapidly growing companies that have a lot of influence over corporate America. So investors want access to these potentially very high returns. But it's a lot more difficult when companies are private versus public. And what we're seeing is different brokerages and Wall street players try to open up these previously opaque and private market markets to more individual investors. So Charles Schwab will offer its clients the abilities to purchase private shares through Forge Global's platform. They'll do that once the deal closes. They'll immediately roll this out to ultra high net worth clients. And then there are plans to ultimately expand that access to Charles Schwab clients with more than a million dollars in assets.

[Alex Osila]

Further down the line, can anyone buy a stake in OpenAI? Even though it's not publicly listed, it.

[Hannah Aaron Lang]

Still remains the case that you have to be a so called accredited investor to buy a stake in a private firm. Requirements for that are actually quite steep. You need at least a million dollars in net assets, not including your home residence, or at least $200,000 in yearly income, $300,000 if it's a joint household. There are a lot of customers who have a million or more in assets on Schwab and they told me that they've been hearing from investors that they're interested in this, so they're responding to that demand in this way.

[Alex Osila]

Is there a risk here that's different than investing in a publicly traded company?

[Hannah Aaron Lang]

Absolutely. It is a very high potential reward, high potential risk situation. We have spent decades in the United States regulating our financial markets. Publicly traded companies have to maintain a certain level of accountability to their investors. Right. They have to disclose their financials every quarter, which is why you see us writing about earnings reports. And there are lots of other regulations in place to be sure that the investors that own a piece of those companies can have a really clear look into the financials, receive a lot of information about how leaders are running the company. And with private markets, those regulations simply aren't in place. And it's something that critics have brought up when we talk about expanding the access to private companies, that we could be opening more investors and less wealthy investors up to those risks.

[Alex Osila]

That was WSJ reporter Hannah Aaron Lang. Thanks, Hannah.

[Hannah Aaron Lang]

Thanks for having me.

[Alex Osila]

Turning back to publicly traded U.S. companies, tech stocks, led markets, lower with the Nasdaq dropping 1.9%. Tesla, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Nvidia all fell. The chipmaker is down 9% in three trading sessions, its worst three day stretch since April. The S and P lost just over 1% today, while the Dow lost a little less than 1%. And on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs has promoted 638 employees to the role of managing director. That's a bigger group than the last class two years ago. The managing director role is the last stop before employees can ascend to Goldman's partnership. The job typically comes with a base salary of around $400,000 and bonuses, which can range from thousands to millions of dollars. Something good to know before tax season. The IRS is officially ending Direct File, the free tax filing program that the Biden administration started last year. The Trump administration says the private sector can do a better job and it will promote alternatives for free tax filing through private companies. Democrats are criticizing the decision. And finally, remember this from the top of the show.

[Nancy Pelosi]

I'm grateful to my colleagues for their commitment to equality, which is both our heritage and our hope, giving me the historic honor of being the first woman speaker of the House of Representatives.

[Alex Osila]

That, of course, was California Representative Nancy Pelosi speaking on the house floor in 2011 as she ended her first stretch as the first female speaker of the House. Today she announced that she won't run for reelection and plans to leave her seat in Congress at the end of this term. For the 85 year old Democrat representing San Francisco, it's the end of a decades long political career that included driving landmark healthcare initiatives and going toe to toe with President Trump. And that's what's news for this Thursday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Pierre Biennime and Zoe Culkin with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Alex Osola for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning.

[Hannah Aaron Lang]

Thanks for listening.