Elon Musk has endorsed Tesla mogul Nelson Peltz’s bid to join the Walt Disney Company’s board of directors as he continues his battle with Mouse House boss Bob Iger.
Mr. Musk famously told Mr. Iger and other CEOs to “fuck you” after they stopped advertising on his social media platform He said he would buy Disney stock if he voted to hire an ally of the United States. Company Board of Directors.
“Nelson Peltz should definitely join the Disney board!” Musk wrote in an article for X before dawn Wednesday.
The Tesla mogul’s message appears to have fallen on deaf ears, as Disney shareholders were reported to be siding with management in the battle between the Mouse House and Peltz.
The final vote will be announced at the shareholders’ meeting at 1 p.m.
Mr. Peltz, an activist investor and co-founder of Trian Partners, is in a proxy fight with Iger and Disney management after index fund manager Vanguard, the company’s largest shareholder, announced its support for the current director. It is said that he was on the verge of defeat in battle. According to Bloomberg News.
Musk said Peltz “will help reinvent the company, improve the quality of our products and generally serve the best interests of our shareholders, as he has done at many other companies.” wrote.
“This will significantly improve Disney’s stock price,” Musk wrote. Disney stock is up nearly 35% since January 1, but is still down 35% from its all-time high in 2021.
Disney stock was trading flat at about $122 per share on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday morning.
In a follow-up post about X, Musk wrote that Peltz joining Disney’s board would encourage him to buy shares in the company.
“His track record is amazing,” Musk said.
In late November, Musk attended a business conference in New York City and spoke out about Disney’s decision to stop advertising on X following reports that the social media platform was not doing enough to root out hateful content. He harshly criticized Mr. Iger for his decision.
Musk has also criticized the “wake mind virus” infecting America, accusing Disney of contributing to the spread of the phenomenon through its films and TV series.
In an April Fool’s joke, Musk quipped that he would be joining Disney as its “chief DEI officer.”
“I can’t wait to work with Bob Iger and Kathleen Kennedy to further awaken their content!” the Tesla chief wrote about X.
“Linguini too.”
As of Wednesday morning, more than 60% of votes cast by Disney shareholders had been counted.
According to Bloomberg News, Vanguard joined other institutional investors including BlackRock and T. Rowe Price in backing candidates for the current board members.
Mr. Peltz wanted to secure a board seat for himself as well as former Disney chief financial officer Jay Laslo.
