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Tesla shareholders convened on Thursday to vote on a enormous remuneration plan for the company's leader estimated at nearly $1 trillion. Upon approval, this plan would signal shareholder trust that the entrepreneur can lead the automaker into an era dominated by artificial intelligence and robotics. If denied, Tesla could confront the exit of a key figure who historically built the company name synonymous with electric vehicles.

Historic Goals and Market Capitalization

Should Musk achieve the formidable milestones detailed in the pay package introduced at Tesla's shareholder gathering, he could become the first-ever trillionaire. To reach this goal, he must steer Tesla to a monumental $8.5 trillion in market value, which is 800% of its current valuation. Moreover, he will be tasked to roll out countless self-driving cars and humanoid robots, while sustaining the corporate profits in the hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade.

Compensation Structure

The primary objectives of the remuneration structure, divided into twelve stages, delineate a path for Tesla to attain its colossal worth. Upon achievement, Musk would be in a position to benefit from an extra 12% of the firm's equity. To qualify, he must remain vested with the firm for a minimum of 7.5 years. Additionally, he must help develop a future leadership strategy for the enterprise he has managed for over 20 years. The stock options awarded by the new compensation plan, in addition to shares promised in his previous compensation plan, would result in Musk with 25 percent equity of Tesla's shares. In early November, Tesla shares were valued close to its 52-week high, at approximately $450 each share.

Ambitious Targets

During a ten-year period, Musk will be obligated to produce 20 million EVs to customers, sell 10 million live FSD memberships, create and distribute 1 million bipedal machines, and deploy 1 million autonomous taxis in paid operations.

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

In November, Musk's fortune was valued at $460 billion, the highest in the planet, as reported by wealth indexes.

Reinstating a Revoked Plan

Investors are also considering a proposal that would remunerate Musk after his earlier remuneration deal was invalidated by a court in Delaware. The compensation package, estimated to be $56 billion, was contested by a individual investor who won his case. The state court denied Musk's pay package on two occasions. If shareholders approve the plan in the Thursday ballot, Musk is set to be paid the massive amount regardless of if Tesla and Musk overturn the ruling of the case.

Following Musk's 2018 pay package was originally overturned, he moved Tesla's corporate home out of Delaware and into Texas. He repeated the action with the rocket firm and other companies' headquarters. In 2024, per Texas statutes, shareholders again voted to approve the remuneration deal.

But Delaware's so-called "equity court" for a second time ruled against one of the most substantial CEO payouts in contemporary business. In the wake of that unfavorable ruling, Musk used online platforms to express dissatisfaction with the region and its "prominent judicial figure", arguably sparking a number of company relocations that Delaware officials have attempted to staunch with new laws.

In evaluating whether Musk had undue influence in being awarded that previous compensation plan, a prominent academic expert commented that the judge recognized that other "celebrity leaders" like Facebook's founder and the Amazon founder were not granted this type of performance-linked deals.