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Investors in the electric car maker assembled on Thursday to vote on a substantial compensation package for CEO Elon Musk estimated at around $1 trillion. If approved, this deal would demonstrate investor confidence that the billionaire can steer the vehicle manufacturer into an age dominated by machine learning and automation. If denied, Tesla could potentially face the departure of a key figure who historically built the company name interchangeable with zero-emission cars.

Historic Goals and Company Valuation

Should Musk achieve the formidable objectives specified in the pay package introduced at Tesla's corporate assembly, he could emerge as the first-ever trillionaire. To accomplish this, he must steer Tesla to a astronomical $8.5 trillion in market capitalization, which is eight times its present worth. Moreover, he will be tasked to launch numerous driverless automobiles and bipedal machines, while upholding the company's bottom line in the hundreds of billions over the next decade.

Payment Breakdown

The key aims of the compensation plan, split into a dozen phases, chart a trajectory for Tesla to attain its enormous valuation. Upon achievement, Musk would be in a position to cash in an further 12% of the company's stock. For this to occur, he must maintain involvement with the firm for no less than 7.5 years. Additionally, he must contribute to forming a long-term succession plan for the business he has led for more than 20 years. The stock options provided by the new compensation plan, alongside shares guaranteed in his earlier deal, would leave Musk with 25% ownership of Tesla's equity. As of early November, Tesla shares were valued approaching its yearly maximum, at roughly $450 per stock.

Formidable Objectives

Over the course of a ten-year period, Musk will be tasked to produce 20 million EVs to customers, sell 10 million live FSD memberships, create and distribute 1 million humanoid robots, and introduce 1 million autonomous taxis in commercial service.

Musk will also be tasked to increase the corporation to $400 billion in actual earnings for four consecutive quarters. Tesla's tangible revenue for the third quarter of 2025 were $4.2 billion, 9 percent lower from the year before.

By November, Musk's personal wealth was valued at $460 billion, the highest in the planet, based on wealth indexes.

Restoring a Rescinded Plan

Investors are also evaluating a plan that would reward Musk after his previous pay package was invalidated by a court in Delaware. The remuneration deal, worth an estimated $56 billion, was disputed by a single stockholder who prevailed in court. The state court dismissed Musk's compensation plan on multiple instances. Upon stockholder approval the proposal in the shareholder meeting, Musk is expected to be awarded the substantial payout regardless of if Tesla and Musk overturn the ruling of the case.

After Musk's 2018 pay package was initially invalidated, he relocated Tesla's legal headquarters to Texas from Delaware. He followed suit with the rocket firm and other companies' headquarters. In last year, according to Texas regulations, shareholders for a second time voted to approve the pay package.

But Delaware's known as "equity court" again denied one of the largest CEO compensation packages in modern history. In the wake of that adverse judgment, Musk posted on his accounts to voice displeasure with the region and its "activist chief judge", perhaps sparking a wave of business departures that Delaware legislators have sought to curb with new laws.

In evaluating whether Musk had undue influence in being given that earlier remuneration deal, a noted law professor observed that the court recognized that other "high-profile executives" like Facebook's founder and the e-commerce pioneer were not given this type of incentive-based contracts.