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Investors in the electric car maker assembled on Thursday to vote on a massive pay deal for Chief Executive Elon Musk worth approximately around $1 trillion. Upon approval, this package would showcase shareholder trust that the billionaire can guide the automaker into an age dominated by artificial intelligence and automation. Should it fail, Tesla could risk the departure of a pioneering CEO who once made the brand equivalent with EVs.

Historic Milestones and Market Capitalization

Upon reaching the formidable targets detailed in the pay package presented at Tesla's shareholder gathering, he could be crowned the first-ever trillionaire. To reach this goal, he must lead Tesla to a astronomical $8.5 trillion in company worth, which is an eightfold increase its existing market cap. Furthermore, he will be obligated to roll out countless autonomous vehicles and advanced androids, while sustaining the corporate profits in the hundreds of billions throughout the coming ten years.

Payment Breakdown

The main goals of the pay package, split into 12 tranches, chart a trajectory for Tesla to reach its colossal market capitalization. Upon achievement, Musk would be in a position to benefit from an additional 12% of the corporation's shares. For this to occur, he must stay committed with the firm for a minimum of 7.5 years. Additionally, he must assist in creating a future leadership strategy for the business he has managed for over 20 years. The equity incentives provided by the updated remuneration deal, alongside shares assured in his previous compensation plan, would result in Musk with a quarter stake of Tesla's shares. By the start of November, Tesla stock was trading near its annual peak, at approximately $450 per share.

Ambitious Targets

Over the course of a ten years, Musk will be tasked to deliver 20 million EVs to consumers, distribute 10 million active full self-driving subscriptions, create and distribute 1 million humanoid robots, and deploy 1 million autonomous taxis in commercial service.

Musk will additionally be obligated to bring the company to $400 billion in real profits for four straight quarters. Tesla's real profits for the July-September 2025 were $4.2 billion, a 9% decrease from the year before.

In November, Musk's personal wealth was valued at $460 billion, the highest in the world, based on market tracking.

Reinstating a Invalidated Deal

Shareholders are furthermore evaluating a plan that would reward Musk after his previous pay package was voided by a judicial body in Delaware. The pay plan, worth an estimated $56 billion, was disputed by a single stockholder who succeeded legally. The Delaware judicial system dismissed Musk's remuneration deal on two occasions. Should investors pass the arrangement in the Thursday ballot, Musk is set to be granted the substantial payout regardless of if Tesla and Musk succeed in appealing of the legal matter.

Following Musk's previous compensation plan was initially invalidated, he relocated Tesla's legal headquarters out of Delaware and into Texas. He did the same with his aerospace company and other business entities. In the previous year, under Texas law, shareholders once again voted to approve the compensation plan.

But Delaware's so-called "court of equity" once again denied one of the largest CEO pay deals in contemporary business. In the wake of that negative decision, Musk took to social media to show frustration with the jurisdiction and its "influential presiding justice", possibly igniting a wave of business departures that Delaware legislators have attempted to staunch with new laws.

In evaluating whether Musk had excessive control in being awarded that previous compensation plan, a prominent legal scholar observed that the judge acknowledged that other "superstar CEOs" like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and the e-commerce pioneer were not granted this sort of incentive-based contracts.