Tesla shareholders on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a pay package for CEO Elon Musk that could reach $1 trillion (€870 billion).
The pay package received more than 75% shareholder support, a Tesla official said at the company’s annual meeting.
“What we are about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter of the future of Tesla, but a whole new book,” Musk said in Austin, Texas, flanked by dancing humanoid robots. “This really is going to be quite the story.”
A victory for Musk was largely anticipated, as he was allowed to vote his roughly 15% stake. Shares of Tesla rose about 1% in after-hours trading.
Some of Tesla’s major investors, including Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and investor advisory firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services, had opposed Musk’s compensation plan, arguing that the pay could decrease shareholder value.
What will Musk have to do to get paid?
The $1 trillion pay package could make Musk, who is already the wealthiest person on the planet, the world’s first trillionaire. But the payout is conditional.
Over the next decade, Musk needs to increase Tesla’s market value from the current $1.5 trillion to at least $8.5 trillion.
The payout also hinges on a series of other milestones: delivering 20 million vehicles, having one million robotaxis in operation, selling one million robots and earning as much as $400 billion in core profit.
The compensation would come in the form of a stock grant that would give Musk as many as 423.7 million new shares over the next 10 years.
Those shares would be worth nearly $1 trillion if Tesla reaches the $8.5 trillion market capitalization required for Musk to qualify for the full payout.
Bid to keep Musk at Tesla
The landmark compensation was crafted to ensure Musk’s continued service to Tesla.
The company’s board had said Musk could quit if the pay package was not approved.
Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm argued that keeping Musk was essential to Tesla’s future.
The vote will also help ease investor worries that Musk has become distracted by his work in politics. He formerly worked as an adviser to US President Donald Trump, but left the administration in May.
Besides Tesla, Musk also runs his other companies, including rocket maker SpaceX and artificial intelligence startup xAI.
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru
