Investors in the electric car maker convened this Thursday to vote on a enormous remuneration plan for Chief Executive Elon Musk worth approximately nearly $1 trillion. If approved, this deal would demonstrate investor confidence that the entrepreneur can lead the automaker into an age defined by artificial intelligence and robotics. If denied, Tesla could potentially face the departure of a pioneering CEO who once made the company name equivalent with electric vehicles.
Upon reaching the lofty targets outlined in the remuneration deal introduced at Tesla's shareholder gathering, he could emerge as the first-ever person with a trillion-dollar net worth. To accomplish this, he must guide Tesla to a astronomical $8.5 trillion in market capitalization, which is eight times its current valuation. Furthermore, he will be required to deploy millions driverless automobiles and humanoid robots, while sustaining the corporate profits in the hundreds of billions of dollars throughout the coming ten years.
The primary objectives of the pay package, split into twelve stages, chart a trajectory for Tesla to achieve its colossal worth. Upon achievement, Musk would be able to cash in an additional 12% of the company's stock. For this to occur, he must stay committed with the company for a minimum of 7.5 years. He will also help develop a long-term succession plan for the organization he has headed for over 20 years. The stock options provided by the updated remuneration deal, combined with shares assured in his previous compensation plan, would leave Musk with a quarter stake of Tesla's shares. In early November, Tesla stock was trading near its annual peak, at approximately $450 per stock.
Throughout a decade, Musk will be obligated to produce 20 million zero-emission cars to customers, sell 10 million operational autonomous driving plans, create and distribute 1 million humanoid robots, and launch 1 million autonomous taxis in commercial service.
Musk will furthermore be obligated to bring the firm to $400 billion in actual earnings for four consecutive quarters. Tesla's actual earnings for the Q3 2025 were $4.2 billion, 9 percent lower from the year before.
As of November, Musk's personal wealth was valued at $460 billion, the leading in the globe, as reported by wealth indexes.
Investors are also considering a plan that would reward Musk after his earlier remuneration deal was invalidated by a court in Delaware. The compensation package, valued at around $56 billion, was disputed by a single stockholder who won his case. The Delaware court of chancery rejected Musk's remuneration deal on multiple instances. Upon stockholder approval the proposal in the shareholder meeting, Musk is likely to be paid the substantial payout whether or not Tesla and Musk overturn the ruling of the case.
After Musk's 2018 pay package was initially invalidated, he relocated Tesla's corporate home to Texas from Delaware. He did the same with his aerospace company and additional corporate bases. In last year, under Texas law, shareholders for a second time approved the pay package.
But Delaware's often referred to as "court of equity" for a second time denied one of the largest CEO pay deals in modern history. After that adverse judgment, Musk used online platforms to show frustration with the jurisdiction and its "activist chief judge", arguably sparking a series of corporate exits that Delaware lawmakers have attempted to staunch with legislation.
In reviewing whether Musk had undue influence in being granted that 2018 pay package, a respected legal scholar observed that the judicial authority noted that other "high-profile executives" like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and the Amazon founder were not awarded this type of performance-linked deals.
Elena Hartwell is a multidisciplinary artist and educator passionate about fostering creative communities in London.