Elon Musk recently informed staff at X about new stock grants. At the same time, the big catch will be that they all have to submit a one-page summary of their contributions now to be able to receive the stock options. These changes are made to attach stock grants directly to individual impact.
The updated policy has increased ongoing tensions at the company. Recently, the promotions process was delayed with no convincing reasons given. Staff at X, formerly Twitter, are already on high alert following a series of ongoing struggles under Musk’s ownership.
In addition, there is staff owed their annual equity refresher, which was due in April. Musk promised employees regular cash-outs in a similar way to how the model at SpaceX works. So far, this has not happened, another source of frustration for staff.
The last refresh, in October 2023, priced the company at $19 billion—far from the $44 billion Musk had paid for the company a year before. Employees received RSUs at a share price of $45 during this refresh.
As employees await clarity and compensation, the new stock grant policy is probably going to increase these anxieties. It is on the leaders of this company to address these issues to maintain staff morale.
