At Tesla's annual shareholder meeting, approximately 75% of shareholders voted in favor of a new compensation plan for Elon Musk, enabling him to potentially earn stock valued at one trillion dollars over the next decade.
Musk will not receive a salary under this agreement. Instead, the payout depends on Tesla achieving ambitious milestones, including increasing its market capitalization from $1.5 trillion to over $8.5 trillion.
Tesla shareholders have overwhelmingly approved a pay package of extraordinary proportions for Elon Musk, passing the measure with 75% of the vote.
For context, Nvidia—the world’s most valuable company, benefiting from the AI surge—is valued at $4.83 trillion. Nvidia’s CEO earns $50 million annually and owns 3.5% of the company.
Musk's wealth is estimated at around $460 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, largely due to Tesla’s stock price, which is currently about $465 per share—over 400 times its value at the company's 2010 IPO.
A prior pay package, valued at $55.8 billion, is still entangled in a court case due to concerns that Tesla's board was too close to Musk during its creation.
"A previous pay package that offered Musk a then-unprecedented $55.8 billion has been tied up in a lengthy court battle after a judge ruled that the board was too cozy with Musk in designing it."
Author's summary: Tesla shareholders approved Elon Musk's pay plan tied to reaching a $8.5 trillion market cap, potentially granting him stock worth a trillion dollars over ten years.