Tesla (TSLA) Shareholders Greenlight Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Package – Largest in Corporate History

Elon Musk just scored the ultimate golden parachute—and Wall Street barely blinked.

Breaking: Tesla investors rubber-stamped the CEO's unprecedented compensation deal, locking in a pay package worth nearly 1,000x the median worker's lifetime earnings. The vote cements Musk's status as the only trillion-dollar CEO while Tesla battles slowing EV demand.

Key takeaways:

- Shareholders approved the controversial 2018 package retroactively after a Delaware court voided it

- Musk gets stock options tied to ludicrous market cap milestones ($650B → $1T)

- 'Performance-based' rewards kick in even if Tesla merely matches S&P 500 returns

Finance pros whisper about governance red flags—but when has that ever stopped the cult of Elon? The market's response? A collective shrug as TSLA shares wobble between meme-stock mania and blue-chip pretensions.

One thing's certain: When the robots finally take over, they'll be paying their AI overlord in Tesla stock.

The structure of the deal is straightforward but demanding. Musk receives no salary but WOULD earn stock grants distributed across 12 equal tranches.

Each tranche unlocks when Tesla hits specific milestones. The first payout comes if Tesla reaches a $2 trillion market cap, up from its current $1.54 trillion valuation.

Market Cap and Operational Targets

The next nine tranches require Tesla’s value to increase by $500 billion increments. The company would need to reach $6.5 trillion for these awards.

The final two tranches demand $1 trillion jumps each. Tesla must hit $8.5 trillion for Musk to receive the complete package.

That means Tesla stock needs to jump 466% from current prices. The target is also 70% higher than Nvidia’s recent record of $5 trillion.

Musk would gain more than 423 million additional shares over the next decade. His ownership would climb from roughly 13% to 25%.

This translates to $275 million worth of stock per day if all targets are met. The package would increase Musk’s voting power over company decisions.

Tesla also established earnings milestones starting at $50 billion in annual adjusted profit. The highest target sits at $400 billion in annual profit.

The company reported adjusted EBITDA of $4.2 billion in the third quarter. Reaching the earnings goals will require massive growth.

Product and Technology Goals

Other targets include delivering 20 million vehicles over the next decade. Tesla has delivered more than 8 million vehicles to date.

The plan requires 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions. Tesla currently offers FSD Supervised, which still needs driver attention.

Musk must also deliver 1 million Optimus humanoid robots. The company needs 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation as well.

The pay package doesn’t specify if FSD subscriptions must be paid or could include free trials. Tesla intends to improve FSD so it doesn’t require human supervision.

During his remarks, Musk spent more time discussing robots than cars. He called the humanoid robot “the biggest product of all time by far.”

Musk predicted the robots could replace surgeons and end global poverty. He claims Tesla could produce them for $20,000 each and sell them at car prices.

A separate shareholder proposal from investor Stephen Hawk addressed Tesla investing in xAI. Brandon Ehrhart, Tesla’s general counsel, said the proposal received more votes in favor than against but noted many abstentions.

Musk had previously indicated he might leave Tesla without this compensation structure. The board cited his concerns about having enough control over the company’s direction.

Tesla has faced challenges this year with sales and profits dropping in the first half. The company also faces potential revenue losses from reduced government support for electric vehicles.

Musk told investors last month the additional shares aren’t about personal wealth. He stated he needs voting control for strong influence while remaining accountable to shareholders.

The products tied to many payout milestones remain under development. This means Musk may never receive the full compensation if targets aren’t met.