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Investors in the electric car maker convened on Thursday to decide on a massive remuneration plan for the company's leader valued at close to $1 trillion. Upon approval, this plan would signal market faith that the tech magnate can steer the vehicle manufacturer into an age dominated by machine learning and robotics. Should it fail, Tesla could potentially face the departure of a key figure who previously established the company name synonymous with EVs.

Record-Breaking Goals and Company Valuation

If the CEO meets the lofty objectives detailed in the pay package presented at Tesla's corporate assembly, he could emerge as the pioneering trillionaire. To accomplish this, he must guide Tesla to a staggering $8.5 trillion in market capitalization, which is an eightfold increase its existing market cap. Moreover, he will be required to launch numerous autonomous vehicles and bipedal machines, while sustaining the financial performance in the massive revenue figures in the upcoming decade.

Compensation Structure

The main goals of the remuneration structure, split into 12 tranches, chart a trajectory for Tesla to achieve its massive market capitalization. Should targets be met, Musk would be able to realize gains on an extra 12% of the company's stock. To qualify, he must stay committed with the firm for at least 7.5 years. He will also help develop a long-term succession plan for the business he has managed for more than 20 years. The share grants provided by the new compensation plan, in addition to shares guaranteed in his previous compensation plan, would grant Musk with 25 percent equity of Tesla's stock. As of early November, Tesla shares were valued close to its annual peak, at approximately $450 per share.

Formidable Objectives

Throughout a ten years, Musk will be obligated to produce 20 million electric vehicles to consumers, market 10 million active full self-driving subscriptions, develop and sell 1 million humanoid robots, and introduce 1 million robotaxis in paid operations.

Musk will also be obligated to bring the company to $400 billion in real profits for four consecutive quarters. Tesla's actual earnings for the Q3 2025 were $4.2 billion, a 9% decrease from the year before.

By November, Musk's net worth was pegged at $460 billion, the leading in the globe, as reported by financial data.

Reinstating a Rescinded Package

Shareholders are furthermore considering a proposal that would reward Musk after his previous pay package was overturned by a judicial body in Delaware. The pay plan, estimated to be $56 billion, was disputed by a sole shareholder who succeeded legally. The Delaware court of chancery dismissed Musk's compensation plan twice. Upon stockholder approval the arrangement in Thursday's vote, Musk is expected to be paid the massive amount irrespective of whether Tesla and Musk win an appeal of the case.

After Musk's 2018 pay package was first rescinded, he relocated Tesla's corporate home to Texas from Delaware. He repeated the action with his aerospace company and other business entities. In 2024, under Texas law, shareholders once again passed the remuneration deal.

But Delaware's so-called "court of equity" once again rejected one of the biggest CEO compensation packages in modern history. After that adverse judgment, Musk took to social media to express dissatisfaction with the state and its "activist chief judge", possibly sparking a wave of business departures that Delaware lawmakers have tried to stop with regulatory measures.

In considering whether Musk had excessive control in being granted that previous compensation plan, a respected legal scholar observed that the judge noted that other "high-profile executives" like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and the Amazon founder were not granted this kind of performance-linked deals.