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Tesla shareholders assembled on Thursday to vote on a substantial pay deal for CEO Elon Musk estimated at around $1 trillion. Upon approval, this plan would showcase market faith that the billionaire can steer the car company into an age defined by artificial intelligence and automation. If rejected, Tesla could risk the loss of a pioneering CEO who once made the company name synonymous with electric vehicles.

Record-Breaking Milestones and Company Valuation

Upon reaching the formidable targets detailed in the compensation plan introduced at Tesla's corporate assembly, he could emerge as the pioneering trillionaire. To reach this goal, he must steer Tesla to a astronomical $8.5 trillion in market capitalization, which is eight times its present worth. Moreover, he will be required to roll out countless autonomous vehicles and advanced androids, while upholding the company's bottom line in the hundreds of billions over the next decade.

Payment Breakdown

The main goals of the pay package, organized into twelve stages, delineate a path for Tesla to achieve its massive market capitalization. If successful, Musk would be eligible to realize gains on an further 12% of the company's stock. To be eligible, he must remain vested with the corporation for a minimum of 7.5 years. Additionally, he must assist in creating a future leadership strategy for the enterprise he has led for more than 20 years. The share grants offered by the updated remuneration deal, alongside shares assured in his earlier deal, would grant Musk with a quarter stake of Tesla's shares. In early November, Tesla stock was trading close to its yearly maximum, at around $450 per stock.

Ambitious Targets

During a decade, Musk will be obligated to deliver 20 million electric vehicles to customers, market 10 million live FSD memberships, produce and launch 1 million advanced androids, and launch 1 million autonomous taxis in paid operations.

Musk will also be required to bring the corporation to $400 billion in tangible revenue for four straight quarters. Tesla's real profits for the third quarter of 2025 were $4.2 billion, 9 percent lower from the year before.

As of November, Musk's fortune was estimated at $460 billion, the highest in the globe, as reported by financial data.

Reviving a Revoked Plan

Shareholders are additionally evaluating a proposal that would compensate Musk after his earlier remuneration deal was overturned by a court in Delaware. The remuneration deal, worth an estimated $56 billion, was disputed by a single stockholder who won his case. The Delaware court of chancery rejected Musk's compensation plan on two occasions. Should investors pass the plan in the shareholder meeting, Musk is set to be granted the huge sum regardless of if Tesla and Musk succeed in appealing of the lawsuit.

Following Musk's 2018 pay package was initially invalidated, he relocated Tesla's corporate home from Delaware to Texas. He did the same with his aerospace company and other companies' headquarters. In 2024, according to Texas regulations, shareholders again approved the pay package.

But Delaware's so-called "court of equity" for a second time rejected one of the most substantial CEO compensation packages in recent times. Following that unfavorable ruling, Musk used online platforms to voice displeasure with the region and its "activist chief judge", perhaps igniting a series of corporate exits that Delaware officials have sought to curb with new laws.

In reviewing whether Musk had undue influence in being awarded that earlier remuneration deal, a prominent legal scholar observed that the court acknowledged that other "celebrity leaders" like the Meta chief and the Amazon founder were not given this type of goal-oriented agreements.