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Investors in the electric car maker gathered this Thursday to vote on a massive compensation package for CEO Elon Musk valued at close to $1 trillion. Upon approval, this package would demonstrate investor confidence that the tech magnate can lead the automaker into an period defined by artificial intelligence and automation. If denied, Tesla could risk the loss of a pioneering CEO who previously established the brand synonymous with EVs.

Record-Breaking Goals and Company Valuation

If the CEO meets the formidable milestones outlined in the compensation plan presented at Tesla's corporate assembly, he could become the first-ever person with a trillion-dollar net worth. To accomplish this, he must lead Tesla to a staggering $8.5 trillion in market capitalization, which is an eightfold increase its current valuation. Additionally, he will be tasked to roll out numerous driverless automobiles and bipedal machines, while sustaining the corporate profits in the hundreds of billions over the next decade.

Payment Breakdown

The key aims of the compensation plan, organized into 12 tranches, delineate a path for Tesla to reach its colossal market capitalization. If successful, Musk would be eligible to cash in an additional 12% of the corporation's shares. To qualify, he must stay committed with the company for at least 7.5 years. He will also help develop a long-term succession plan for the enterprise he has led for more than 20 years. The stock options offered by the new compensation plan, in addition to shares promised in his previous compensation plan, would leave Musk with 25% ownership of Tesla's shares. As of early November, Tesla stock was trading close to its annual peak, at approximately $450 per stock.

Lofty Goals

During a ten-year period, Musk will be obligated to produce 20 million electric vehicles to buyers, market 10 million operational autonomous driving plans, create and distribute 1 million humanoid robots, and launch 1 million robotaxis in paid operations.

Musk will furthermore be required to elevate the firm to $400 billion in tangible revenue for four straight quarters. Tesla's real profits for the Q3 2025 were $4.2 billion, down 9% from the previous year.

In November, Musk's fortune was pegged at $460 billion, the highest in the planet, based on market tracking.

Reinstating a Invalidated Plan

Shareholders are also reviewing a proposal that would reward Musk after his earlier remuneration deal was invalidated by a legal authority in Delaware. The remuneration deal, estimated to be $56 billion, was challenged by a individual investor who won his case. The state court denied Musk's pay package on multiple instances. Upon stockholder approval the arrangement in Thursday's vote, Musk is set to be awarded the substantial payout regardless of if Tesla and Musk overturn the ruling of the case.

Following Musk's previous compensation plan was originally overturned, he moved Tesla's corporate home from Delaware to Texas. He repeated the action with his aerospace company and other business entities. In the previous year, per Texas statutes, shareholders once again passed the pay package.

But Delaware's known as "judicial body" once again denied one of the most substantial CEO payouts in modern history. Following that adverse judgment, Musk used online platforms to express dissatisfaction with the jurisdiction and its "activist chief judge", arguably sparking a wave of business departures that Delaware officials have sought to curb with new laws.

In considering whether Musk had improper sway in being awarded that previous compensation plan, a noted law professor remarked that the judicial authority noted that other "high-profile executives" like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and the Amazon founder were not awarded this sort of goal-oriented agreements.