Tesla offers unprecedented US$1 trillion pay package to Elon Musk

[AUSTIN, Texas] Tesla proposed a new compensation agreement for chief executive officer Elon Musk potentially valued at about US$1 trillion, a massive package without precedent in corporate America.

The long-awaited proposal, designed to incentivise Musk to lead Tesla for years to come, sets a series of ambitious benchmarks he must meet to earn the full payout, including expanding Tesla’s robotaxi business and growing the company’s market value to at least US$8.5 trillion from around US$1 trillion today. The plan spans 10 years.

The additional shares Musk could receive would push his stake in the electric-vehicle maker to at least 25 per cent, according to the terms detailed in Tesla’s proxy filing on Friday (Sep 5). Musk has publicly stated he wants a stake of that size.

The plan dangles a financial windfall and expanded control of the company to Musk, already the world’s richest person, after his 2018 package valued in excess of US$50 billion was struck down by a Delaware court. While Tesla appeals that decision, the board is seeking other ways to compensate its CEO, including with an interim stock award in early August valued at about US$30 billion.

The incentives in the new plan aim to keep Musk’s focus on Tesla while it pursues growth in newer markets including robotics and artificial intelligence. Friday’s proxy filing also included a non-binding shareholder proposal for Tesla to take a stake in Musk’s xAI startup, an idea Musk has previously discussed.

The new agreement underscores Musk’s iron grip on the automaker, despite the myriad demands on his time. Musk, who has served as Tesla’s top executive since 2008, oversees four other companies: SpaceX, xAI, Neuralink and the Boring He told Bloomberg in an interview in May that he’s committed to still being at the helm of Tesla in five years.

Tesla’s shares have declined 16 per cent this year through Thursday. BLOOMBERG