Charged: Second firm recommends no vote on Tesla’s Musk pay

Institutional investors and professional traders rely on The Fly to keep up-to-the-second on breaking news in the electric vehicle and clean energy space, as well as which stocks in these sectors that the best analysts on Wall Street are saying to buy and sell.

From the hotly-debated high-flier Tesla (TSLA), Wall Street’s newest darling Rivian (RIVN), traditional-stalwarts turned EV-upstarts GM (GM) and Ford (F) to the numerous SPAC-deal makers that have come public in this red-hot space, The Fly has you covered with “Charged,” a weekly recap of the top stories and expert calls in the sector.

Click here to check out Tesla’s recent Media Buzz Sentiment as measured by TipRanks.

NO VOTE: Tesla said via X, “ISS and Glass Lewis have recommended against Tesla’s proposals time and time again since the 2018 CEO Performance Award was introduced. It’s a good thing our shareholders ignored those recommendations otherwise they may have missed out on our market capitalization soaring by 20x from March 2018 to August 2025. Now, Glass Lewis has followed ISS and issued another misguided recommendation that again disregards the fundamental purpose of public companies and who they serve – the shareholders. These firms do not own Tesla – you do. Glass Lewis’s one-size-fits-all checklists undermine shareholders’ interests, including by opposing proposals designed to build long-term value at Tesla. The shortcomings of these proxy advisors are echoed by state and federal officials, who are scrutinizing ISS’s and Glass Lewis’s practices, including by implementing laws that require that their recommendations be based on the financial interests of shareholders, implying a failure to do so in the past and presently. Shareholders have spoken twice on Elon’s 2018 CEO Performance Award. ISS’s and Glass Lewis’s recommendations attempt to override the mandate our shareholders delivered to Elon and ignore the staggering financial results delivered under Elon’s leadership, elevating their rigid policies over shareholder value. Glass Lewis’s recommendations on Ira and Kathleen are indefensible. Ira continues to drive major growth, having built an effective and tailored governance regime and brings technical rigor to Tesla’s toughest product and strategy calls. Kathleen has been a part of two of the most transparent governance processes in modern day corporate America and brings decades of legal, operating, compensation, human capital and management expertise critical to winning the AI talent war. Vote yes to robots, not robotic voting. Vote with Tesla on ALL proposals.”

SELL RIVIAN: Mizuho downgraded Rivian to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $10, down from $14. The firm cites slowing electric vehicle demand as Inflation Reduction Act credits expire for the downgrade. Mizuho sees headwinds in 2026 for Rivian due to with softer auto sales in North America and China risks. It cut Rivian’s 2026 deliveries forecast to 60,000 units from 68,000, below the consensus of 72,000.

NEW APPOINTMENT: NuScale Power (SMR) announced the appointment of James D. Canafax as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, effective October 20. Canafax brings to NuScale decades of legal experience, including within the nuclear industry as well as the broader energy and manufacturing sectors. He most recently served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Maritime Partners, where he established the company’s legal department and supported strategic growth, regulatory compliance and financing initiatives. Before joining Maritime Partners, Canafax served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary at BWX Technologies (BWXT), a leading supplier of nuclear components and services to the U.S. government and the commercial nuclear industry. In that role, he oversaw critical legal, compliance and corporate governance matters, managed complex mergers and acquisitions, high-profile litigation and regulatory interactions, and advised the Board and senior executives on corporate strategy. His tenure included extensive engagement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, and U.S. Department of Defense, among other routine interactions with key regulatory bodies.

THESIS REMAINS INTACT: KeyBanc raised the firm’s price target on Constellation Energy (CEG) to $417 from $357 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm believes the thesis remains intact, as the company is well positioned to take advantage of the expanding data economy and its intrinsically appreciating generation fleet, highlighted by the recent PJM results and the LT PPA with Meta (META). KeyBanc expects the scarcity value of Constellation’s assets will continue to put upward pressure on shares as more deals are announced and expects buybacks to provide support for the share price.