Tesla Shareholders Approve Elon Musk's Groundbreaking $1 Trillion Pay Package

Sat Nov 08 2025 15:42:18 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Elon Musk's unprecedented pay deal has been approved by Tesla shareholders, enabling him to earn up to $1 trillion contingent on meeting ambitious company targets.

During Tesla's annual general meeting, shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of Elon Musk's pay package, which could potentially reward him with nearly $1 trillion if he meets specific benchmarks in the next decade. Musk's responsibilities will include delivering millions of vehicles and driving significant profit increases. The decision drew mixed reactions, with supporters citing Musk's integral role in Tesla's future, while critics expressed concerns over the size of the package and its implications for corporate governance.

Tesla boss Elon Musk has had a record-breaking pay package that could be worth nearly $1 trillion (£760bn) approved by shareholders.

The unprecedented deal was approved by 75% of votes and drew huge applause from the audience at the firm's annual general meeting on Thursday.

Musk, who is already the world's richest man, must drastically raise the electric car firm's market value over 10 years. If he does this and meets various targets, he will be rewarded with hundreds of millions of new shares.

The scale of the potential payout has drawn criticism, but the Tesla board argued that Musk might leave the company if it was not approved - and that it could not afford to lose him.

Following the announcement, Musk took to the stage in Austin, Texas and danced to chants of his name.

What we're about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter of the future of Tesla, but a whole new book, he said.

Other shareholder meetings are snoozefests but ours are bangers. Look at this. This is sick, he added.

The milestones Musk must achieve over the next decade include:

Delivering 20 million Tesla vehicles and one million robots
Getting 10 million subscriptions to Tesla's Full Self-Driving feature
Bringing one million self-driving Robotaxi vehicles into commercial operation
Earning up to $400bn in core profit
Eventually lifting Tesla's overall market value to $8.5tn, currently $1.4tn

He won't receive a salary under the agreed deal.

But meeting all the above milestones would see him awarded a stock grant of more than 400 million additional Tesla shares - worth around $1 trillion if the firm's market value is raised high enough.

Musk's early remarks on Thursday placed the spotlight on the Optimus robot, dashing the hopes of some long-time analysts and Tesla watchers who want him to focus on reviving the company's electric vehicle business.

Optimus, unveiled as a prototype by the company in 2022, is designed to be an autonomous humanoid robot performing unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks. Using the same artificial intelligence (AI) systems as those powering Tesla vehicles, it has been championed by Musk as central to his firm's future.

He's previously said its ability to walk, run and lift items would allow it to play a key role in his factories - and in future, in homes.

In recent weeks, members of Tesla's board of directors have helped lobby for Musk's new pay package with a marketing blitz that riled some corporate governance experts. A video posted to votetesla.com showed board chair Robyn Denholm and director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson praising Musk.

Kathryn Hannon, investment manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said the new pay deal would give Musk increasing voting power over the company, which he had long been requesting for a number of years.