🔗 Share this article

Investors in the electric car maker gathered this Thursday to vote on a massive pay deal for CEO Elon Musk estimated at around $1 trillion. Upon approval, this package would showcase shareholder trust that the entrepreneur can steer the automaker into an era defined by AI technology and advanced machinery. If denied, Tesla could potentially face the exit of a key figure who historically built the company name synonymous with electric vehicles.

Record-Breaking Targets and Company Valuation

Should Musk achieve the formidable milestones outlined in the compensation plan revealed at Tesla's corporate assembly, he could be crowned the first-ever trillionaire. To accomplish this, he must steer Tesla to a staggering $8.5 trillion in company worth, which is an eightfold increase its current valuation. Additionally, he will be required to roll out numerous autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots, while upholding the corporate profits in the massive revenue figures in the upcoming decade.

Payment Breakdown

The main goals of the remuneration structure, organized into twelve stages, outline a path for Tesla to achieve its enormous worth. Upon achievement, Musk would be able to cash in an further 12% of the corporation's shares. To be eligible, he must remain vested with the company for a minimum of 7.5 years. Additionally, he must assist in creating a corporate transition roadmap for the organization he has managed for in excess of 20 years. The stock options awarded by the new compensation plan, alongside shares guaranteed in his earlier deal, would result in Musk with 25% ownership of Tesla's equity. In early November, Tesla stock was trading close to its 52-week high, at approximately $450 each share.

Ambitious Targets

During a ten years, Musk will be tasked to manufacture 20 million EVs to buyers, distribute 10 million live FSD memberships, produce and launch 1 million humanoid robots, and launch 1 million self-driving cabs in revenue-generating use.

Musk will additionally be obligated to elevate the company to $400 billion in actual earnings for a full year. Tesla's actual earnings for the Q3 2025 were $4.2 billion, 9 percent lower from the previous year.

As of November, Musk's net worth was valued at $460 billion, the leading in the globe, according to financial data.

Reinstating a Rescinded Plan

Shareholders are furthermore considering a plan that would reward Musk after his 2018 compensation plan was invalidated by a judicial body in Delaware. The compensation package, estimated to be $56 billion, was disputed by a individual investor who prevailed in court. The state court dismissed Musk's compensation plan on multiple instances. Should investors pass the proposal in the Thursday ballot, Musk is expected to be paid the huge sum whether or not Tesla and Musk succeed in appealing of the case.

Following Musk's 2018 pay package was initially invalidated, he moved Tesla's corporate home out of Delaware and into Texas. He followed suit with SpaceX and other business entities. In 2024, under Texas law, shareholders once again approved the pay package.

But Delaware's known as "court of equity" for a second time ruled against one of the largest CEO compensation packages in modern history. After that unfavorable ruling, Musk used online platforms to voice displeasure with the jurisdiction and its "influential presiding justice", arguably sparking a number of company relocations that Delaware officials have sought to curb with regulatory measures.

In evaluating whether Musk had undue influence in being awarded that 2018 pay package, a respected academic expert observed that the judicial authority noted that other "superstar CEOs" like Facebook's founder and Amazon's Jeff Bezos were not given this type of performance-linked deals.