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Investors in the electric car maker gathered this Thursday to vote on a enormous remuneration plan for Chief Executive Elon Musk estimated at around $1 trillion. Should it pass, this plan would signal investor confidence that the tech magnate can guide the vehicle manufacturer into an period shaped by artificial intelligence and automation. Should it fail, Tesla could potentially face the exit of a key figure who historically built the brand interchangeable with EVs.

Historic Milestones and Market Capitalization

Should Musk achieve the ambitious targets detailed in the compensation plan introduced at Tesla's corporate assembly, he could become the world's first trillionaire. For this to happen, he must lead Tesla to a staggering $8.5 trillion in market capitalization, which is 800% of its current valuation. Furthermore, he will be required to deploy numerous driverless automobiles and humanoid robots, while maintaining the corporate profits in the hundreds of billions in the upcoming decade.

Compensation Structure

The main goals of the remuneration structure, organized into twelve stages, outline a roadmap for Tesla to reach its enormous market capitalization. Upon achievement, Musk would be eligible to cash in an further 12% of the company's stock. To be eligible, he must maintain involvement with the company for no less than 7.5 years. Additionally, he must contribute to forming a future leadership strategy for the business he has managed for more than 20 years. The share grants offered by the new compensation plan, alongside shares guaranteed in his earlier deal, would result in Musk with a quarter stake of Tesla's shares. By the start of November, Tesla shares were valued close to its 52-week high, at roughly $450 per share.

Ambitious Targets

Over the course of a ten years, Musk will be obligated to deliver 20 million electric vehicles to buyers, market 10 million operational autonomous driving plans, create and distribute 1 million humanoid robots, and launch 1 million self-driving cabs in paid operations.

Musk will also be required to increase the corporation to $400 billion in tangible revenue for four straight quarters. Tesla's tangible revenue for the third quarter of 2025 were $4.2 billion, a 9% decrease from the same period last year.

As of November, Musk's fortune was valued at $460 billion, the top in the world, as reported by wealth indexes.

Reviving a Revoked Plan

Shareholders are also considering a proposal that would compensate Musk after his earlier remuneration deal was invalidated by a legal authority in Delaware. The compensation package, worth an estimated $56 billion, was challenged by a individual investor who won his case. The Delaware court of chancery rejected Musk's compensation plan on two occasions. Should investors pass the plan in the shareholder meeting, Musk is set to be awarded the massive amount regardless of if Tesla and Musk succeed in appealing of the legal matter.

Following Musk's 2018 pay package was originally overturned, he moved Tesla's legal headquarters from Delaware to Texas. He repeated the action with SpaceX and other companies' headquarters. In 2024, according to Texas regulations, shareholders again voted to approve the compensation plan.

But Delaware's often referred to as "judicial body" again denied one of the most substantial CEO payouts in recent times. In the wake of that negative decision, Musk posted on his accounts to express dissatisfaction with the region and its "prominent judicial figure", possibly igniting a wave of business departures that Delaware officials have sought to curb with new laws.

In evaluating whether Musk had improper sway in being given that 2018 pay package, a respected law professor commented that the judicial authority noted that other "superstar CEOs" like Facebook's founder and the Amazon founder were not awarded this sort of goal-oriented agreements.