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Investors in the electric car maker convened this Thursday to vote on a massive pay deal for CEO Elon Musk estimated at around $1 trillion. Upon approval, this plan would demonstrate shareholder trust that the tech magnate can steer the car company into an era defined by artificial intelligence and robotics. If rejected, Tesla could potentially face the departure of a visionary leader who previously established the corporation synonymous with electric vehicles.

Record-Breaking Targets and Company Valuation

If the CEO meets the lofty objectives outlined in the remuneration deal introduced at Tesla's annual meeting, he could emerge as the first-ever trillionaire. For this to happen, he must steer Tesla to a staggering $8.5 trillion in company worth, which is eight times its current valuation. Furthermore, he will be tasked to launch millions autonomous vehicles and bipedal machines, while upholding the financial performance in the massive revenue figures throughout the coming ten years.

Compensation Structure

The key aims of the compensation plan, split into a dozen phases, chart a roadmap for Tesla to achieve its colossal valuation. If successful, Musk would be eligible to cash in an additional 12% of the company's stock. To be eligible, he must remain vested with the corporation for at least 7.5 years. He will also help develop a future leadership strategy for the organization he has led for more than 20 years. The stock options offered by the latest pay package, alongside shares guaranteed in his earlier deal, would result in Musk with 25 percent equity of Tesla's stock. As of early November, Tesla shares were valued near its 52-week high, at around $450 each share.

Formidable Objectives

During a decade, Musk will be tasked to manufacture 20 million zero-emission cars to customers, sell 10 million live FSD memberships, produce and launch 1 million humanoid robots, and introduce 1 million autonomous taxis in revenue-generating use.

Musk will furthermore be required to elevate the corporation to $400 billion in real profits for four straight quarters. Tesla's real profits for the July-September 2025 were $4.2 billion, a 9% decrease from the year before.

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

Reinstating a Revoked Deal

Shareholders are also considering a plan that would reward Musk after his 2018 compensation plan was overturned by a judicial body in Delaware. The pay plan, worth an estimated $56 billion, was disputed by a sole shareholder who succeeded legally. The Delaware court of chancery denied Musk's remuneration deal on two occasions. If shareholders approve the arrangement in the shareholder meeting, Musk is set to be awarded the massive amount whether or not Tesla and Musk overturn the ruling of the legal matter.

Subsequent to Musk's 2018 pay package was originally overturned, he moved Tesla's corporate home out of Delaware and into Texas. He did the same with the rocket firm and other companies' headquarters. In last year, per Texas statutes, shareholders once again approved the remuneration deal.

But Delaware's known as "judicial body" again ruled against one of the most substantial CEO compensation packages in contemporary business. After that negative decision, Musk took to social media to express dissatisfaction with the jurisdiction and its "activist chief judge", arguably igniting a wave of business departures that Delaware officials have sought to curb with regulatory measures.

In evaluating whether Musk had improper sway in being awarded that earlier remuneration deal, a prominent academic expert commented that the judge recognized that other "celebrity leaders" like the Meta chief and Amazon's Jeff Bezos were not granted this type of incentive-based contracts.