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Investors in the electric car maker assembled this Thursday to determine on a enormous compensation package for the company's leader estimated at close to $1 trillion. Should it pass, this package would signal market faith that the tech magnate can steer the automaker into an era dominated by machine learning and robotics. If rejected, Tesla could confront the loss of a pioneering CEO who once made the company name interchangeable with electric vehicles.

Record-Breaking Targets and Market Capitalization

Should Musk achieve the lofty milestones specified in the pay package introduced at Tesla's shareholder gathering, he could emerge as the world's first trillionaire. To reach this goal, he must guide Tesla to a staggering $8.5 trillion in market value, which is an eightfold increase its current valuation. Furthermore, he will be tasked to launch numerous autonomous vehicles and bipedal machines, while maintaining the company's bottom line in the hundreds of billions in the upcoming decade.

Reward System

The primary objectives of the compensation plan, split into 12 tranches, outline a trajectory for Tesla to reach its enormous valuation. If successful, Musk would be eligible to realize gains on an further 12% of the firm's equity. To be eligible, he must maintain involvement with the corporation for at least 7.5 years. Additionally, he must assist in creating a corporate transition roadmap for the business he has led for over 20 years. The share grants provided by the new compensation plan, in addition to shares assured in his 2018 package, would leave Musk with a quarter stake of Tesla's stock. In early November, Tesla stock was trading near its 52-week high, at approximately $450 per share.

Ambitious Targets

Over the course of a ten-year period, Musk will be tasked to manufacture 20 million zero-emission cars to buyers, market 10 million active full self-driving subscriptions, create and distribute 1 million bipedal machines, and launch 1 million autonomous taxis in revenue-generating use.

Musk will also be tasked to elevate the firm to $400 billion in tangible revenue for four consecutive quarters. Tesla's tangible revenue for the third quarter of 2025 were $4.2 billion, down 9% from the year before.

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

Restoring a Rescinded Plan

Investors are also reviewing a plan that would reward Musk after his earlier remuneration deal was overturned by a legal authority in Delaware. The pay plan, estimated to be $56 billion, was challenged by a single stockholder who succeeded legally. The state court rejected Musk's compensation plan on multiple instances. If shareholders approve the proposal in Thursday's vote, Musk is expected to be granted the substantial payout irrespective of whether Tesla and Musk win an appeal of the legal matter.

After Musk's earlier remuneration deal was first rescinded, he transferred Tesla's legal headquarters to Texas from Delaware. He did the same with the rocket firm and other business entities. In the previous year, under Texas law, shareholders once again passed the remuneration deal.

But Delaware's often referred to as "judicial body" for a second time rejected one of the biggest CEO pay deals in modern history. In the wake of that negative decision, Musk posted on his accounts to show frustration with the jurisdiction and its "activist chief judge", arguably sparking a wave of business departures that Delaware officials have attempted to staunch with new laws.

In considering whether Musk had undue influence in being granted that earlier remuneration deal, a prominent academic expert observed that the judicial authority recognized that other "superstar CEOs" like the Meta chief and Amazon's Jeff Bezos were not awarded this sort of incentive-based contracts.