Historically, having institutional investors on corporate boards has not worked out very well: there are inherent conflicts of interest between what's good for a fund and what's good for the long-term health of the corporation. The saddest, most egregious and frustratingly common example that instantly comes to mind are share buybacks. They prop up the stock price - Yay! says fund management - at the expense of hobbling the company's balance sheet.
Now, normally these also are disgustingly tied to the purse of senior management. In that share price is a compensation determinant in too many situations, a share buyback helps the institutional investor and senior management. We know that Mr Musk's package is quite innovative and honest in this regard, but Tesla is very much the exception here.
