Elon Musk's $1T pay deal backed by Tesla shareholders

Published: Friday, November 7, 2025 at 12:53 pm

Tesla Shareholders Approve Massive Pay Package for Elon Musk

Tesla shareholders have approved a groundbreaking compensation package for CEO Elon Musk, potentially making him the world's first trillionaire. The deal, backed by 75% of shareholders with voting rights, could see Musk receive approximately $1 trillion over a decade. This would be achieved by increasing his stake in Tesla by over 423 million shares.

The substantial stock award is contingent on Musk achieving ambitious performance targets. These include a five-fold increase in Tesla's market capitalization, from its current level of around $1.5 trillion to $8.5 trillion. The package also ties stock grants to specific production and financial goals, such as producing 20 million electric vehicles, securing 10 million full self-driving subscriptions, deploying 1 million Optimus humanoid robots, and launching 1 million robotaxis.

The stock will be awarded in tranches, with the first block triggered when Tesla's market capitalization reaches $2 trillion. Subsequent tranches will be awarded as the company's value increases by increments of $500 billion, up to $6.5 trillion, and then by $1 trillion increments to reach the final target of $8.5 trillion.

The deal includes provisions for "covered events" that could impact Tesla's future, such as natural disasters, wars, pandemics, and changes in laws and regulations.

This new package comes after a previous $56 billion pay deal awarded to Musk in 2018 was struck down by a court in Delaware. The shareholders also voted to reinstate the package on the same day. In August, the board awarded Musk a $29 billion "good faith" package.

The shareholder vote occurred shortly after Tesla reported a 37% decrease in third-quarter profits, despite record revenue of $28.1 billion.

BNN's Perspective:

While the potential for significant wealth creation is undeniable, the sheer scale of this compensation package raises concerns. The performance-based nature of the deal is positive, but the magnitude of the potential payout and the inclusion of "covered events" that could impact the targets warrant careful scrutiny. It's a high-stakes gamble that could either propel Tesla to unprecedented heights or leave shareholders questioning the balance between executive compensation and company performance.

Keywords: Elon Musk, Tesla, shareholder, pay deal, compensation, trillionaire, stock, market capitalization, electric vehicles, robotaxis, Optimus, financial targets, performance-based, revenue, profits

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