North America Technology Correspondent, San Francisco Share Anti-Musk and Tesla protests have happened in cities across the US A polarising figure Tesla's argument in support of the pay package rests on the idea that Musk might leave the company if shareholders don't follow the board's recommendation and approve the pay package. It says it can't afford to lose him, and that he "singularly possesses the leadership characteristics necessary to... realize its long-term mission". In the video posted to votetesla.com, Ms Wilson-Thompson said the board undertook a seven month process using legal and compensation experts to devise the compensation deal. On last month's earnings call, Musk minimised the focus on the payout, saying the real issue was ensuring he had adequate control in order to properly steer Tesla. But - aside from the question of whether Musk, with his preoccupations with autonomous cars and humanoid robots, is the setting the right course - there is also the matter of whether championing the boss is the board's job. "The role of a board is to have fiduciary responsibility to shareholders and not to be advocating for a CEO," said Yale School of the Environment's Matthew Kotchen, an economics professor who co-authored a recent study attempting to quantify damage Mr Musk has done to Tesla of late. It's clear a number of key decision-makers are unpersuaded the deal represents value for money. Proxy advisers Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which advise asset managers on how to vote on major corporate proposals, have recommended investors reject the pay package, saying it's excessive and would dilute shareholder value. Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest national wealth fund, has followed suit, as has the largest public pension fund in the US, CalPERS. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has urged investors to also reject directors up for re-election to the board, saying they've failed "to provide independent oversight and accountability." As some institutions balk, that might leave Mr Musk more reliant on Tesla's unusually large volume of retail investors - who tend to support him - to get his wish. It all means, in the words of Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, that Thursday's vote is set to be one of "most important events" in Tesla's history - with a "distinct possibility" the pay package won't pass. It doesn't help Musk's cause that protesters continue to organise anti-Tesla rallies, months after his controversial turn as US President Donald Trump's government efficiency tsar crashed and burned in May. "It's hard for me to imagine that Elon Musk, in the very near term, shakes off the damage that he's done to this brand," said Mr Kotchen. Others though would say Musk's extraordinary track record of entrepreneurship would make it unwise to bet against him, even when the sum being staked is as dizzyingly high as $1tn. "It's hard to deny that Elon Musk's larger-than-life personality has helped drive more interest and awareness for his organisation than almost any other corporate leader in the modern era," said Edmunds' head of insights Jessica Caldwell. "He's become a more polarizing figure over time, but there's still a belief in his ability to deliver on bold, unconventional ideas," she added. The trillion dollar question now is - do Tesla shareholders agree? Tesla investigated over self-driving cars on wrong side of road