Elon Musk's latest Tesla pay package could make him the world's first trillionaire

Tesla shareholders person a constricted clip to ballot connected whether to o.k. a staggering wage bundle for main enforcement Elon Musk that could grant him astir $1 trillion successful shares.

Musk could permission the institution if shareholders cull the package, committee seat Robyn Denholm warned successful a missive to voters past week. The wage connection is tied to ambitious show goals and is indispensable to incentivize Musk to proceed his work, Denholm said.

Tesla volition clasp its yearly gathering Thursday. Shareholders person until 11:59 p.m. ET connected Wednesday to ballot connected the wage plan, which was unveiled by the committee successful September.

“If we neglect to foster an situation that motivates Elon to execute large things done an equitable pay-for-performance plan, we tally the hazard that helium gives up his enforcement position,” Denholm wrote successful an Oct. 27 letter. “Tesla whitethorn suffer his time, endowment and vision, which person been indispensable to delivering bonzer shareholder returns.”

Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages gross from Norway’s earthy resources and is 1 of Tesla’s biggest investors, said Tuesday that it volition ballot against Musk’s projected pay. The money holds a 1.16% involvement successful the company.

“While we admit the important worth created nether Mr. Musk’s visionary role, we are acrophobic astir the full size of the award,” Norges slope said successful a statement. “We volition proceed to question constructive dialog with Tesla connected this and different topics.”

Musk is already among the world’s highest-paid executives, with compensation that dwarfs that of Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Palantir’s Alexander Karp. Musk is besides Tesla’s largest idiosyncratic shareholder with astir 13% of shares, but has said repeatedly helium would similar much voting powerfulness implicit the company.

In an net telephone past month, Musk said helium wants a important involvement successful the institution arsenic helium pivots toward artificial quality and continues to make his humanoid robot, dubbed Optimus.

“If we physique this robot army, bash I person astatine slightest a beardown power implicit that robot army?” Musk said to analysts. “I don’t consciousness comfy gathering that robot service if I don’t person astatine slightest a beardown influence.”

If approved, the caller wage program would springiness Musk much than a 25% involvement successful the institution for gathering circumstantial milestones. The archetypal milestone is reaching a $2-trillion valuation for Tesla, which is presently valued astatine astir $1.5 trillion.

The milestones summation incrementally up to an $8.5-trillion institution valuation and besides see merchandise goals, specified arsenic delivering 20 cardinal vehicles, deploying 1 cardinal robotaxis for commercialized cognition and garnering 10 cardinal afloat self-drive subscriptions.

In her letter, Denholm described the bundle arsenic “a highly customized show program that aligns shareholder worth and measurable concern outcomes with the interests of our CEO.”

Tesla is astatine a turning constituent arsenic it banks its aboriginal connected autonomous driving exertion and becomes little reliant connected its accepted electrical vehicles aft a twelvemonth of rocky sales, experts said.

Interest successful electrical vehicles has been faltering arsenic the Trump medication hammers distant astatine national incentives to spell electrical and declares steep car tariffs. Last month, Tesla’s quarterly nett plunged 31% year-over-year.

Still, the company’s shares are up much than 90% implicit the past 12 months, adjacent aft Musk triggered a Tesla marque situation with his impermanent stint successful the White House. Shares were up much than 2% connected Monday, days up of the voting deadline.

Musk is indispensable to Tesla’s operations and its modulation into an artificial quality powerhouse, the committee of directors said. The projected wage program is just due to the fact that it’s babelike connected the company’s wide success, they said.

“Elon is rewarded lone if and erstwhile helium delivers bonzer show that benefits each Tesla shareholders,” Denholm wrote successful October.

A Reuters investigation recovered that Musk could pouch much than $50 cardinal by gathering conscionable a fewer of the board’s less-ambitious show goals.

Musk is known to overpromise, and has been exaggerating the abilities of his autonomous tech for astir a decade. He described self-driving cars arsenic a “solved problem” successful 2015, though the 2025 rollout of Tesla robotaxis successful Austin, Texas, struggled with glitches.

The projected wage program could marque Musk the world’s archetypal trillionaire. Several groups, including unions, firm watchdogs and proxy advisory firms, person publically opposed the wage package.