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Investors in the electric car maker assembled on Thursday to determine on a substantial compensation package for CEO Elon Musk estimated at around $1 trillion. Upon approval, this plan would showcase market faith that the billionaire can guide the car company into an period defined by machine learning and advanced machinery. If rejected, Tesla could potentially face the departure of a pioneering CEO who historically built the corporation synonymous with electric vehicles.

Record-Breaking Targets and Company Valuation

Upon reaching the ambitious milestones detailed in the remuneration deal introduced at Tesla's corporate assembly, he could emerge as the world's first trillionaire. For this to happen, he must guide Tesla to a astronomical $8.5 trillion in company worth, which is 800% of its present worth. Furthermore, he will be required to deploy millions driverless automobiles and humanoid robots, while sustaining the company's bottom line in the hundreds of billions over the next decade.

Reward System

The key aims of the compensation plan, divided into twelve stages, outline a path for Tesla to attain its massive valuation. If successful, Musk would be in a position to realize gains on an further 12% of the company's stock. To qualify, he must stay committed with the company for no less than 7.5 years. Furthermore, he is required to contribute to forming a corporate transition roadmap for the business he has managed for more than 20 years. The stock options provided by the updated remuneration deal, in addition to shares guaranteed in his earlier deal, would result in Musk with 25 percent equity of Tesla's stock. By the start of November, Tesla stock was trading close to its yearly maximum, at approximately $450 each share.

Lofty Goals

During a ten years, Musk will be tasked to manufacture 20 million electric vehicles to consumers, sell 10 million active full self-driving subscriptions, produce and launch 1 million advanced androids, and deploy 1 million autonomous taxis in paid operations.

Musk will also be obligated to elevate the company to $400 billion in tangible revenue for four consecutive quarters. Tesla's real profits for the third quarter of 2025 were $4.2 billion, down 9% from the same period last year.

By November, Musk's personal wealth was pegged at $460 billion, the highest in the planet, as reported by market tracking.

Restoring a Revoked Deal

Investors are furthermore evaluating a plan that would remunerate Musk after his previous pay package was overturned by a legal authority in Delaware. The pay plan, worth an estimated $56 billion, was challenged by a single stockholder who succeeded legally. The Delaware judicial system denied Musk's compensation plan on two occasions. Upon stockholder approval the plan in the Thursday ballot, Musk is set to be granted the substantial payout whether or not Tesla and Musk win an appeal of the case.

After Musk's 2018 pay package was initially invalidated, he transferred Tesla's corporate home to Texas from Delaware. He followed suit with his aerospace company and other business entities. In 2024, under Texas law, shareholders once again approved the pay package.

But Delaware's known as "equity court" once again rejected one of the biggest CEO compensation packages in recent times. In the wake of that negative decision, Musk used online platforms to voice displeasure with the state and its "activist chief judge", arguably fueling a wave of business departures that Delaware officials have tried to stop with regulatory measures.

In reviewing whether Musk had excessive control in being granted that earlier remuneration deal, a prominent legal scholar observed that the court recognized that other "superstar CEOs" like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and the Amazon founder were not awarded this type of performance-linked deals.