Tesla Proposes Record $1 Trillion Pay Package for Elon Musk Tied to Ambitious Growth Targets
Tesla has unveiled a proposed compensation plan that could see CEO Elon Musk earn shares worth over $1 trillion if he meets a series of bold performance goals over the next decade.
The package, announced by Tesla’s board, would not include a salary or cash bonus. Instead, Musk – already the world’s richest person – would be gradually awarded shares as he hits specific milestones. These include increasing Tesla’s market value eightfold, selling 12 million electric vehicles, delivering one million AI-powered humanoid robots, and achieving massive growth in the company’s earnings.
The plan would be divided into 12 tranches, with each tied to a market value and operational milestone. The first milestone requires Tesla to double its current market value to $2 trillion, while the final target is a staggering $8.5 trillion — more than twice the current valuation of Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company.
Tesla’s board urged shareholders to back the proposal, describing Musk’s leadership as essential to Tesla’s future.
“Growth that may seem impossible today can be unlocked with new ideas, better technology and greater innovation,” Tesla chair Robyn Denholm said. “Retaining and incentivising Elon is fundamental to Tesla becoming the most valuable company in history.”
If approved, the plan would mark the largest CEO pay package ever proposed, dwarfing Musk’s previous $50 billion award, which was struck down by a U.S. court earlier this year for being “unfair to shareholders.” Last month, Musk received $29 billion in shares as part of that earlier arrangement.
Criticism and Doubts
The proposal has sparked backlash among analysts and investors, with some questioning whether one executive should be promised such an extraordinary payout.
“This award beggars belief,” said Dan Coatsworth, an investment analyst at AJ Bell. “Tesla has been losing ground to competitors, and its brand has been damaged by Musk’s controversial behaviour outside of the company. Surely Musk should be fighting for his job, not being handed a golden ticket.”
Tesla’s latest financial results show sales falling at their fastest pace in a decade, which analysts have linked to growing competition and Musk’s polarising public image.
The timing of the pay plan is especially notable, coming just months after reports surfaced that Tesla’s board had explored replacing Musk. In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that headhunters were being considered to find a successor because Musk was too distracted by his political activities and his close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump. Tesla dismissed the report as “absolutely false,” while the newspaper has stood by its story.
Coatsworth criticised the board’s sudden change in stance: “One minute, they’re questioning whether Musk is a liability, the next they’re offering him a package that effectively says, ‘Pick any number, and we’ll make it happen.’”
The proposal will now go to a shareholder vote, where investors will decide whether Musk’s vision – and the extraordinary price tag attached to it – is worth the gamble.
