Elon Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire if he hits targets set by Tesla, under a scheme disclosed by the electric car company he runs and in which he is the largest shareholder.
Tesla outlined the terms of the incentive package, unprecedented in corporate history, in a section of its latest stock market update that began: “Yes, you read that correctly.”
Musk, the company said, will have to increase the value of Tesla from just over $1tn now to $8.5tn over 10 years.
If he presides over growth on that scale, the 54-year-old will receive new shares that would push his stake in the company from nearly 16% to well beyond 25%, increasing the fortunes of the world’s richest man to more than $2tn.
Estimates of Musk’s current net worth vary but a live ranking of the world’s wealthiest people on the planet, compiled by Forbes, estimates the South African-born tycoon’s fortune at $430.9bn. In second place, with $272.3bn, is the investor and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
The incentive plan, revealed in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, comes at a time when some observers have questioned whether Musk’s outspoken political views could be holding Tesla back.
The carmaker’s European sales fell by 40% earlier this year, a dramatic slump that some analysts attributed to Musk’s vocal support for far-right political parties, and his intense but short-lived alliance with Donald Trump.
Musk has also divided his duties between Tesla and the stewardship of other ventures, such as SpaceX, Neuralink, xAI and the Boring Co, on top of the time he spends posting on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, which he bought for $44bn in 2022.
“One minute Tesla’s board is wondering if Elon Musk is a liability to the company given his outspoken views and political distractions, the next they’re effectively saying ‘pick a number, any number’ to lock him in for as long as possible,” said Dan Coatsworth, an investment analyst at the London-based stockbroker AJ Bell.
He said the pay package “beggars belief”, questioning whether one person could be worth that much.
But in its statement to shareholders, signed by directors Robyn Denholm and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, Tesla offered Musk an outspoken vote of confidence, describing him as its “visionary leader”.
The company also referred investors, a majority of whom must support the pay deal for it to go through, to the difficulty it has previously had in securing incentives for Musk.
The filing referred to a legal challenge that has prevented it from following through on a pay deal announced in 2018 that gave Musk the chance to claim a $55.8bn bonus.
A court ruled last year in favour of a group of investors who claimed that the scheme’s targets had been inappropriately set. An appeal by Tesla is due to be heard next month.
“Ultimately, the new award aims to build upon the success of the 2018 CEO performance award framework, which ensured that Elon was only paid for performance delivered and incentivised to guide Tesla through a period of meteoric growth,” the company said.
Tesla said the new plan included profit targets that were 28 times higher than the 2018 scheme and would also hinge on delivering new products, such as getting 1m “robotaxis” in operation and delivering 1m AI bots, humanoid robots that the company is developing.
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If Musk fails to double Tesla’s valuation over the 10-year period, he will receive no pay award.
In an apparent justification of Musk’s proposed pay package, Tesla said: “If Elon achieves all the performance milestones […] his leadership will propel Tesla to become the most valuable company in history.”
Tesla said it “believes that Mr Musk’s vision and leadership are critical to nailing that execution”.
The target stock market value of $8.5tn is more than double the current value of Nvidia, the chipmaker that is currently the world’s most valuable company.
“Tesla is a public company, and shareholders will ultimately decide if he deserves a $1tn pay deal,” Coatsworth said.
“Securing this money will be dependent on hitting targets, and current progress suggests Musk will need a stroke of extraordinarily good luck to grab the 13-digit figure.
“Shareholders would love for Musk to hit the targets to trigger the payday, as they would also share in the success via a higher share price. Therefore, it feels like many investors would happily approve it.
“The bigger question is whether this proposal sets a new precedent and boardrooms across America will think it’s OK to add a zero or two on to the end of current remuneration packages. It all seems a tad excessive and a symptom of poor corporate governance.”
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