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Tesla shareholders assembled on Thursday to vote on a massive compensation package for the company's leader estimated at nearly $1 trillion. Upon approval, this plan would showcase market faith that the billionaire can steer the vehicle manufacturer into an era shaped by AI technology and robotics. Should it fail, Tesla could risk the loss of a key figure who historically built the company name interchangeable with EVs.

Record-Breaking Goals and Company Valuation

If the CEO meets the formidable milestones detailed in the pay package presented at Tesla's annual meeting, he could become the first-ever trillionaire. To reach this goal, he must guide Tesla to a staggering $8.5 trillion in market capitalization, which is 800% of its present worth. Moreover, he will be obligated to launch countless driverless automobiles and humanoid robots, while sustaining the corporate profits in the hundreds of billions in the upcoming decade.

Payment Breakdown

The primary objectives of the pay package, organized into a dozen phases, outline a trajectory for Tesla to reach its massive market capitalization. Upon achievement, Musk would be in a position to cash in an extra 12% of the company's stock. For this to occur, he must maintain involvement with the company for no less than 7.5 years. He will also assist in creating a corporate transition roadmap for the business he has led for more than 20 years. The equity incentives provided by the latest pay package, combined with shares promised in his 2018 package, would result in Musk with 25% ownership of Tesla's shares. By the start of November, Tesla equity was priced near its annual peak, at roughly $450 each share.

Formidable Objectives

During a ten-year period, Musk will be required to manufacture 20 million electric vehicles to buyers, distribute 10 million live FSD memberships, create and distribute 1 million humanoid robots, and launch 1 million autonomous taxis in paid operations.

Musk will furthermore be tasked to bring the firm to $400 billion in tangible revenue for four consecutive quarters. Tesla's actual earnings for the Q3 2025 were $4.2 billion, down 9% from the same period last year.

In November, Musk's net worth was valued at $460 billion, the top in the planet, as reported by wealth indexes.

Reinstating a Revoked Package

Stockholders are additionally evaluating a arrangement that would remunerate Musk after his 2018 compensation plan was overturned by a legal authority in Delaware. The pay plan, estimated to be $56 billion, was challenged by a individual investor who succeeded legally. The Delaware court of chancery rejected Musk's remuneration deal twice. Should investors pass the proposal in Thursday's vote, Musk is expected to be granted the huge sum regardless of if Tesla and Musk win an appeal of the lawsuit.

Subsequent to Musk's earlier remuneration deal was first rescinded, he moved Tesla's corporate home to Texas from Delaware. He did the same with the rocket firm and other companies' headquarters. In 2024, under Texas law, shareholders once again passed the compensation plan.

But Delaware's so-called "judicial body" once again denied one of the biggest CEO compensation packages in modern history. In the wake of that negative decision, Musk posted on his accounts to show frustration with the state and its "prominent judicial figure", arguably fueling a number of company relocations that Delaware officials have tried to stop with legislation.

In evaluating whether Musk had improper sway in being granted that previous compensation plan, a respected legal scholar commented that the judge acknowledged that other "celebrity leaders" like Facebook's founder and the Amazon founder were not awarded this type of performance-linked deals.