Tesla shareholders approved Elon Musk’s pay package worth up to $1 trillion with 75% support at the annual meeting in Austin, a result that set off headlines declaring him a trillionaire even though the award vests only if a slate of aggressive targets is met over the next ten years.
The plan essentially carries no salary and would grant Musk more than 400 million additional Tesla shares if he delivers the milestones.
The company outlined long term goals for Musk that include delivering 20 million vehicles, bringing one million self driving robotaxi vehicles into commercial service, securing 10 million Full Self Driving subscriptions, deploying one million Optimus humanoid robots, generating up to $400 billion in core profit, and ultimately lifting market value to about $8.5 trillion from roughly $1.4 trillion today.
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Hitting those marks would make the new stock grant worth about $1 trillion. If the targets are missed the options do not vest and Musk receives no salary.
Management framed the package around an AI and robotics future rather than a pure electric vehicle turnaround.
“What we’re about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter of the future of Tesla, but a whole new book,” Musk said, celebrating on stage after the vote. “Other shareholder meetings are snoozefests but ours are bangers. Look at this. This is sick.”
His opening focus was Optimus, the humanoid robot first shown as a prototype in 2022 and pitched to handle unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks in factories and eventually in homes.
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Musk later addressed software, saying Tesla is “almost comfortable” allowing drivers to “text and drive essentially” with Full Self Driving. US regulators are investigating the feature after incidents in which cars drove through red lights or on the wrong side of the road, some leading to crashes and injuries. The company’s near term sales have softened over the past year and the brand has been buffeted by political controversy.
The vote follows a Delaware court decision that rejected a prior award on concerns that the board was too close to Musk. Tesla has since reincorporated from Delaware to Texas, while the Delaware Supreme Court reviews the lower court’s ruling.
Musk had previously threatened to resign if shareholders rejected his compensation package.
Among the shareholders, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and CalPERS opposed the new package. The outcome relied on Tesla’s unusually large retail base, and both Elon and his brother Kimbal Musk, a Tesla director, were allowed to vote. Directors ran a high profile campaign that featured board chair Robyn Denholm and director Kathleen Wilson Thompson praising Musk in a video posted to VoteTesla.
Information for this story was found via BBC and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
