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Investors in the electric car maker convened on Thursday to vote on a massive remuneration plan for Chief Executive Elon Musk valued at close to $1 trillion. Upon approval, this deal would showcase investor confidence that the billionaire can steer the automaker into an era shaped by AI technology and robotics. If rejected, Tesla could confront the exit of a visionary leader who once made the corporation interchangeable with electric vehicles.

Historic Goals and Market Capitalization

If the CEO meets the ambitious objectives specified in the pay package introduced at Tesla's annual meeting, he could become the world's first trillionaire. For this to happen, he must guide Tesla to a monumental $8.5 trillion in company worth, which is an eightfold increase its existing market cap. Additionally, he will be required to roll out millions self-driving cars and bipedal machines, while sustaining the corporate profits in the hundreds of billions throughout the coming ten years.

Payment Breakdown

The key aims of the pay package, divided into 12 tranches, chart a trajectory for Tesla to reach its colossal market capitalization. If successful, Musk would be eligible to realize gains on an further 12% of the firm's equity. To qualify, he must remain vested with the company for at least 7.5 years. Additionally, he must assist in creating a corporate transition roadmap for the business he has managed for over 20 years. The stock options provided by the updated remuneration deal, combined with shares guaranteed in his previous compensation plan, would grant Musk with 25% ownership of Tesla's shares. As of early November, Tesla equity was priced close to its annual peak, at around $450 per stock.

Lofty Goals

Throughout a ten years, Musk will be tasked to manufacture 20 million zero-emission cars to consumers, distribute 10 million live FSD memberships, create and distribute 1 million bipedal machines, and launch 1 million autonomous taxis in paid operations.

Musk will also be obligated to bring the corporation to $400 billion in tangible revenue for four straight quarters. Tesla's real profits for the Q3 2025 were $4.2 billion, 9 percent lower from the same period last year.

As of November, Musk's net worth was valued at $460 billion, the leading in the planet, according to market tracking.

Reviving a Rescinded Deal

Shareholders are also reviewing a proposal that would compensate Musk after his 2018 compensation plan was voided by a court in Delaware. The pay plan, valued at around $56 billion, was challenged by a individual investor who won his case. The state court rejected Musk's compensation plan on two occasions. If shareholders approve the proposal in Thursday's vote, Musk is set to be granted the massive amount regardless of if Tesla and Musk win an appeal of the case.

Following Musk's earlier remuneration deal was originally overturned, he moved Tesla's business registration from Delaware to Texas. He repeated the action with his aerospace company and other business entities. In 2024, according to Texas regulations, shareholders again passed the remuneration deal.

But Delaware's often referred to as "judicial body" once again denied one of the largest CEO payouts in recent times. Following that adverse judgment, Musk took to social media to show frustration with the jurisdiction and its "activist chief judge", perhaps fueling a series of corporate exits that Delaware officials have tried to stop with new laws.

In evaluating whether Musk had improper sway in being granted that earlier remuneration deal, a respected law professor observed that the judicial authority noted that other "high-profile executives" like the Meta chief and the Amazon founder were not given this kind of performance-linked deals.