Elon Musk has done it again, this time, not with a rocket launch or a new Tesla model, but with an eye-popping pay deal that could make him the first trillionaire CEO in history.
At Tesla’s annual general meeting on Thursday, shareholders voted overwhelmingly, 75% in favor to approve Musk’s record-breaking compensation package, a plan that ties his rewards to some of the most ambitious corporate goals ever proposed.
If all targets are met, the deal could be worth nearly $1 trillion (£760 billion) over the next decade. And true to Musk’s unorthodox style, he won’t take a salary. Instead, he’ll be paid in Tesla stock, but only if the company’s value soars to astronomical levels.
To unlock the payout, Musk must steer Tesla through a future filled with innovation and risk. The milestones include delivering 20 million electric vehicles, selling one million Optimus robots, securing 10 million subscriptions to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature, launching a million robotaxis, and boosting Tesla’s market capitalization from its current $1.4 trillion to an incredible $8.5 trillion.
The announcement, met with applause and cheers at the Austin, Texas meeting, underscores the extraordinary faith Tesla’s investors have in Musk’s vision, even as critics warn that the company’s challenges regulatory probes, rising competition, and slowing sales could make the targets nearly impossible to achieve.
Musk, visibly pleased, hinted at Tesla’s next big leap: autonomy. “We’re almost comfortable allowing drivers to text and drive essentially,” he quipped, referencing the company’s Full Self-Driving system. But the joke landed awkwardly amid ongoing U.S. investigations into multiple Tesla crashes involving the FSD feature, some linked to red-light violations and lane misreads.
Beyond the humor lies a serious gamble. For Musk to cash in, Tesla’s valuation has to soar past $2 trillion before inching toward $8.5 trillion, a figure that would eclipse the combined worth of several major automakers.
Yet, Musk’s allure remains magnetic. The board defended the deal, arguing that without it, Musk could walk away, taking his vision and perhaps Tesla’s future with him. “We can’t afford to lose him,” one board member said bluntly.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s share price has risen over 62% in the past six months, defying critics and bolstering the case for the pay package. Still, questions linger. Can Musk deliver on his promise of a fully autonomous fleet, a humanoid workforce, and 20 million Teslas on the road all while fending off growing scrutiny and competition?
Because if Musk’s grand experiment succeeds, the age of the Optimus robot might just begin and its creator could become the first CEO in history to earn a trillion dollars.
