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Investors in the electric car maker assembled this Thursday to vote on a massive remuneration plan for Chief Executive Elon Musk valued at nearly $1 trillion. If approved, this package would signal investor confidence that the entrepreneur can steer the car company into an period shaped by machine learning and advanced machinery. Should it fail, Tesla could potentially face the loss of a key figure who once made the company name synonymous with zero-emission cars.

Record-Breaking Goals and Company Valuation

Upon reaching the formidable targets outlined in the pay package revealed at Tesla's corporate assembly, he could emerge as the first-ever trillionaire. For this to happen, he must lead Tesla to a staggering $8.5 trillion in market capitalization, which is an eightfold increase its present worth. Furthermore, he will be tasked to roll out numerous autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots, while maintaining the corporate profits in the hundreds of billions of dollars throughout the coming ten years.

Reward System

The main goals of the pay package, divided into a dozen phases, outline a path for Tesla to attain its enormous worth. If successful, Musk would be eligible to benefit from an further 12% of the company's stock. To be eligible, he must stay committed with the company 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 stock options awarded by the new compensation plan, alongside shares assured in his earlier deal, would leave Musk with a quarter stake of Tesla's equity. By the start of November, Tesla shares were valued approaching its annual peak, at around $450 per stock.

Ambitious Targets

During a ten-year period, Musk will be tasked to deliver 20 million EVs to buyers, sell 10 million active full self-driving subscriptions, produce and launch 1 million advanced androids, and launch 1 million autonomous taxis in revenue-generating use.

Musk will also be tasked to elevate the firm to $400 billion in actual earnings for a full year. Tesla's real profits for the third quarter of 2025 were $4.2 billion, a 9% decrease from the previous year.

By November, Musk's personal wealth was estimated at $460 billion, the highest in the planet, as reported by financial data.

Restoring a Rescinded Deal

Stockholders are furthermore reviewing a proposal that would remunerate Musk after his 2018 compensation plan was voided by a court in Delaware. The remuneration deal, worth an estimated $56 billion, was challenged by a sole shareholder who prevailed in court. The Delaware court of chancery dismissed Musk's compensation plan on multiple instances. Upon stockholder approval the plan in the Thursday ballot, Musk is set to be granted the massive amount irrespective of whether Tesla and Musk overturn the ruling of the case.

After Musk's earlier remuneration deal was initially invalidated, he relocated Tesla's corporate home from Delaware to Texas. He repeated the action with SpaceX and additional corporate bases. In 2024, according to Texas regulations, shareholders for a second time passed the compensation plan.

But Delaware's so-called "judicial body" once again rejected one of the most substantial CEO pay deals in recent times. Following that negative decision, Musk took to social media to show frustration with the state and its "influential presiding justice", possibly igniting a series of corporate exits that Delaware legislators have sought to curb with regulatory measures.

In evaluating whether Musk had excessive control in being awarded that 2018 pay package, a noted law professor remarked that the judicial authority noted that other "celebrity leaders" like the Meta chief and Amazon's Jeff Bezos were not given this sort of incentive-based contracts.