Tesla CEO Elon Musk stands to earn a staggering $1 trillion over the next decade, according to newly released company filings outlining an ambitious compensation plan.
“Yes, you read that correctly,” board members said in a Sept. 5 letter to shareholders. “In 2018, Elon had to grow Tesla by billions; in 2025, he has to grow Tesla by trillions — to be exact, he must create nearly $7.5 trillion in value for shareholders for him to receive the full award.”
The remuneration plan would also give Musk more voting power.
For Musk to potentially become the world’s first trillionaire, the proposal features about a dozen pivotal milestones. This includes 20 million automobile deliveries, the deployment of a million robotaxis in commercial operation, and the manufacturing of a million artificial intelligence Optimus robots.
The electric vehicle juggernaut’s market cap would also need to reach $8.5 trillion in this time span—approximately eight times its current value.
Additionally, Musk is required to stay at Tesla for at least seven and a half years to cash out his stock and 10 years to receive the full pay deal. He must also craft a blueprint for someone to succeed him as CEO.
“Tesla does not currently have a long-term CEO performance award in place to retain and incentivize Elon to focus his energies on Tesla and lead us through this pivotal moment in our history,” the filing stated. “It’s time to change that.”
Tesla plans to hold its annual shareholders meeting on Nov. 6.
Talk on the Street
Shares of Tesla rose by almost 3 percent to finish the holiday-shortened trading week. This year, the stock has declined by more than 8 percent, driven by stalling consumer demand, lower earnings, and missed market forecasts.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, however, lauded the Tesla board for its offer.
Last month, Ives reiterated his “Outperform” rating for Tesla stocks, predicting a 65 percent 12-month upside.
Nancy Tengler, CEO and CIO of Laffer Tengler Investments, is also bullish on Tesla, citing its future investments in Optimus, robotaxis, and artificial intelligence.
Tengler, in a July research note to The Epoch Times, stated that Tesla is a “narrative stock, with the narrative primarily being Elon.”
“Musk has frequently teetered on the edge of disaster—a great abyss below and an impossible leap to safety ahead—and yet he repeatedly pulls it off,” Tengler said. “As Musk said, he is wired for war and he finds himself—or has thrust himself—once again into an epic war for the future of TSLA.”
The 2018 Compensation Structure
This is not the first time that Musk’s compensation has garnered attention.
In 2018, Tesla offered Musk a $56 billion pay package if he hit a series of aggressive targets over 10 years. It was divided into 12 tranches, with a growing market cap from $50 billion to $650 billion as the central goal.
Today, Tesla’s market capitalization is slightly more than $1 trillion.
While it is unclear whether the Delaware judge will rule on the second vote, Tesla’s board granted a new $29 billion equity award for Musk last month.
