Tesla can proceed with a retail-shareholder voting program after SEC staff issued a no-action letter on Tuesday, allowing participating investors to have their shares follow the board’s recommendation at each meeting. Investors must opt in, continue receiving voting materials, and can override individual votes or leave the program at no cost. They may also exclude contested board elections and mergers from automatic voting, while Tesla must send annual reminders. The sign-up date has not been announced. Retail investors voted just 28% of their shares in 2025, compared with 76.6% for institutions, according to Broadridge data cited in Tesla’s request. Tesla said it spent more than $2 million on proxy solicitors during its previous two annual meetings. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said his company worked with Tesla on the program, while Tesla General Counsel Brandon Ehrhart said retail shareholders should have a stronger voice. ExxonMobil introduced a similar model after a September 2025 SEC letter and had enrolled more than 100,000 shareholders by March 2026, but New York City Comptroller Mark Levine criticized it in a May 2026 filing as a blank check for board recommendations. The approach is available for other companies to adopt.