Tesla Shareholders Approve Elon Musk's Billion-Dollar Pay Package
Tesla shareholders have approved a pay package for Elon Musk that could potentially earn him nearly one trillion dollars in stock. The proposal passed with 75% of the vote at Tesla's annual meeting, according to preliminary results announced on November 6, 2025.
Pay Package Details and Conditions
Musk's compensation involves no salary but allows him to unlock Tesla stock valued at roughly one trillion dollars if the company achieves specific goals within the next decade. A key target is raising Tesla’s market capitalization—from about $1.5 trillion to over $8.5 trillion.
"Musk would have to raise the company's market capitalization, the value of all its stock put together, from about $1.5 trillion today to above $8.5 trillion."
Market Comparisons
For context, Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company boosted by the AI boom, is worth $4.83 trillion. Nvidia’s CEO, a significant factor in its success, earns $50 million per year and owns 3.5% of the company.
Musk’s Wealth and Stock Performance
Elon Musk is already extremely wealthy, with an estimated net worth of $460 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Tesla's stock price currently trades around $465 per share, more than 400 times its value at the company's 2010 IPO.
"A previous pay package that offered Musk a then-unprecedented $55.8 billion has been tied up in a lengthy court battle after a judge ruled that the board was too cozy with Musk in designing it."
That earlier package has faced legal challenges due to perceived conflicts of interest between Musk and Tesla’s board.
Summary
The approved compensation plan ties Musk’s future earnings to ambitious company growth, reinforcing his influence on Tesla’s trajectory amid ongoing legal scrutiny of past deals.
Would you like the summary to be more analytical or neutral?