Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee, M.I.T. professors who shared a Nobel Prize in economics, argue that the impact of financial carrots has often been exaggerated.

The decision, experts say, amounts to a referendum on whether traditional corporate-governance rules apply to the world's richest man.

Musk himself has taken to X - which he owns - to raise the stakes higher still, saying the fate of Tesla "could affect the future of civilization."