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Investors in the electric car maker assembled this Thursday to decide on a substantial remuneration plan for CEO Elon Musk valued at close to $1 trillion. Upon approval, this deal would showcase market faith that the billionaire can steer the car company into an age defined by AI technology and robotics. If denied, Tesla could confront the exit of a visionary leader who previously established the brand equivalent with EVs.

Record-Breaking Milestones and Company Valuation

Upon reaching the formidable targets outlined in the pay package revealed at Tesla's annual meeting, he could become the world's first person with a trillion-dollar net worth. To accomplish this, he must guide Tesla to a staggering $8.5 trillion in company worth, which is 800% of its existing market cap. Additionally, he will be required to deploy countless self-driving cars and bipedal machines, while maintaining the corporate profits in the hundreds of billions over the next decade.

Compensation Structure

The main goals of the pay package, divided into a dozen phases, delineate a roadmap for Tesla to achieve its colossal worth. Upon achievement, Musk would be in a position to realize gains on an further 12% of the firm's equity. To be eligible, he must stay committed with the company for no less than 7.5 years. Additionally, he must assist in creating a corporate transition roadmap for the organization he has headed for over 20 years. The share grants awarded by the latest pay package, alongside shares assured in his earlier deal, would grant Musk with 25% ownership of Tesla's shares. By the start of November, Tesla stock was trading close to its 52-week high, at around $450 per stock.

Lofty Goals

Throughout a ten-year period, Musk will be tasked to deliver 20 million zero-emission cars to customers, distribute 10 million active full self-driving subscriptions, develop and sell 1 million humanoid robots, and deploy 1 million self-driving cabs in paid operations.

Musk will additionally be obligated to increase the company to $400 billion in real profits for a full year. Tesla's tangible revenue for the July-September 2025 were $4.2 billion, down 9% from the year before.

By November, Musk's net worth was estimated at $460 billion, the leading in the planet, according to financial data.

Reviving a Invalidated Deal

Shareholders are also considering a plan that would remunerate Musk after his 2018 compensation plan was voided by a legal authority in Delaware. The pay plan, valued at around $56 billion, was contested by a single stockholder who prevailed in court. The Delaware court of chancery dismissed Musk's remuneration deal twice. Upon stockholder approval the proposal in Thursday's vote, Musk is expected to be awarded the huge sum whether or not Tesla and Musk overturn the ruling of the case.

After Musk's previous compensation plan was initially invalidated, he moved Tesla's business registration from Delaware to Texas. He repeated the action with his aerospace company and other companies' headquarters. In 2024, under Texas law, shareholders once again passed the pay package.

But Delaware's so-called "equity court" for a second time denied one of the biggest CEO pay deals in contemporary business. Following that unfavorable ruling, Musk took to social media to voice displeasure with the region and its "influential presiding justice", arguably fueling a number of company relocations that Delaware officials have sought to curb with new laws.

In evaluating whether Musk had undue influence in being awarded that 2018 pay package, a prominent legal scholar observed that the court recognized that other "high-profile executives" like Facebook's founder and the e-commerce pioneer were not granted this kind of incentive-based contracts.