Tesla shareholders on Thursday approved a record $1 trillion pay package for Elon Musk after he warned he might leave the company without it.
The deal, the largest in history, could make Musk the world’s first trillionaire if he meets performance goals over the next decade. Already the world’s richest person, the 54-year-old is worth $490.1 billion, per Forbes.
Musk’s pay package will be distributed in 12 stock tranches. He’ll earn the first when Tesla reaches a $2 trillion valuation and delivers 20 million vehicles, and another if it hits $3 trillion and produces 1 million “Optimus” humanoid robots. Meeting all targets would push Tesla’s value to $8.5 trillion, with Musk owning roughly a quarter of the company.
Even if Tesla meets just the first two targets, Musk would earn $26 billion—more than the combined lifetime pay of Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, according to Reuters.
Over 75% of shareholders backed Musk’s $1 trillion pay deal, according to preliminary results from Tesla’s annual meeting—a strong vote of confidence despite the company’s recent sales slump and stock dip. The approval was also a relief for Tesla’s board, which had warned Musk might leave if it failed.
The package passed despite opposition from critics, including Pope Leo XIV, who said it defied “the value of human life and society,” and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, a major investor in Tesla. Proxy firms ISS and Glass Lewis also urged shareholders to reject it as excessive, but Musk defended the deal, claiming “control of Tesla could affect the future of civilization.”
“Elon is the ultimate ‘key man’ of key man risk,” wrote Ron Baron, a major shareholder, on X. “Without his relentless drive and uncompromising standards, there would be no Tesla.”
The plan notably doesn’t restrict Musk’s political activity, a concern for some shareholders who tied his work with Trump’s administration to Tesla’s earlier sales slump. The board defended the package, saying Musk’s leadership is vital for launching millions of “Optimus” robots and self-driving taxis in the years ahead.
“If we build this robot army, do I have at least a strong influence over that robot army?” Musk said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. “I don’t feel comfortable building that robot army if I don’t have at least a strong influence.”
Tesla’s board designed the new $1 trillion pay plan after a Delaware judge voided Musk’s earlier $56 billion package as excessive and conflicted. Furious over the ruling, Musk relocated Tesla’s incorporation from Delaware to Texas. Before the vote, prediction market Kalshi gave the plan a 92% chance of passing, and Tesla’s board urged support, writing, “The future of Tesla is in your hands.”
“We are at a pivotal juncture in Tesla’s history, and the proposals the Special Committee has carefully designed and the Board has put forward will help determine Tesla’s future,” the message stated. “If you believe, like us, that Elon is the CEO that can make our ambitious vision a reality, vote NOW.”
Tesla shares have risen nearly 20% this year despite weak earnings and growing competition from BYD and other Chinese EV makers. Musk acknowledged “a few rough quarters” ahead but predicted a turnaround once Tesla reaches “autonomy at scale” in the second half of next year.
BREAKING: Tesla shareholders have awarded CEO Elon Musk a pay package that could grant the tech entrepreneur nearly $1 trillion in compensation over the next decade. https://t.co/KXM96g18Je pic.twitter.com/7VJNiMx2bm
— ABC News (@ABC) November 6, 2025
