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Investors in the electric car maker gathered on Thursday to decide on a enormous compensation package for CEO Elon Musk valued at close to $1 trillion. Should it pass, this package would demonstrate shareholder trust that the billionaire can lead the car company into an era defined by machine learning and advanced machinery. If denied, Tesla could confront the loss of a key figure who once made the company name equivalent with EVs.

Historic Goals and Company Valuation

If the CEO meets the lofty objectives outlined in the remuneration deal revealed at Tesla's corporate assembly, he could become the world's first person with a trillion-dollar net worth. To accomplish this, he must lead Tesla to a astronomical $8.5 trillion in company worth, which is 800% of its existing market cap. Furthermore, he will be obligated to deploy millions autonomous vehicles and advanced androids, while maintaining the company's bottom line in the massive revenue figures throughout the coming ten years.

Compensation Structure

The primary objectives of the remuneration structure, organized into twelve stages, delineate a path for Tesla to reach its enormous market capitalization. Should targets be met, Musk would be able to realize gains on an extra 12% of the firm's equity. For this to occur, he must maintain involvement with the company for no less than 7.5 years. Additionally, he must help develop a long-term succession plan for the organization he has headed for over 20 years. The stock options provided by the updated remuneration deal, alongside shares assured in his previous compensation plan, would leave Musk with a quarter stake of Tesla's shares. By the start of November, Tesla stock was trading near its annual peak, at roughly $450 per share.

Formidable Objectives

During a ten years, Musk will be obligated to deliver 20 million EVs to customers, distribute 10 million active full self-driving subscriptions, create and distribute 1 million humanoid robots, and launch 1 million robotaxis in revenue-generating use.

Musk will also be required to bring the firm to $400 billion in real profits for four straight quarters. Tesla's actual earnings for the third quarter of 2025 were $4.2 billion, down 9% from the same period last year.

In November, Musk's fortune was estimated at $460 billion, the highest in the planet, according to market tracking.

Reinstating a Rescinded Package

Stockholders are additionally considering a proposal that would reward Musk after his earlier remuneration deal was voided by a judicial body in Delaware. The compensation package, worth an estimated $56 billion, was contested by a individual investor who succeeded legally. The Delaware judicial system dismissed Musk's pay package twice. Should investors pass the arrangement in Thursday's vote, Musk is likely to be granted the substantial payout irrespective of whether Tesla and Musk win an appeal of the lawsuit.

After Musk's 2018 pay package was originally overturned, he transferred Tesla's business registration from Delaware to Texas. He did the same with the rocket firm and other companies' headquarters. In 2024, per Texas statutes, shareholders once again approved the compensation plan.

But Delaware's known as "equity court" again rejected one of the most substantial CEO pay deals in recent times. Following that unfavorable ruling, Musk used online platforms to show frustration with the jurisdiction and its "activist chief judge", arguably fueling a number of company relocations that Delaware legislators have attempted to staunch with legislation.

In considering whether Musk had improper sway in being granted that earlier remuneration deal, a noted law professor remarked that the court acknowledged that other "celebrity leaders" like Facebook's founder and the e-commerce pioneer were not granted this type of goal-oriented agreements.