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Tesla shareholders gathered this Thursday to vote on a substantial remuneration plan for CEO Elon Musk valued at close to $1 trillion. Upon approval, this plan would demonstrate market faith that the billionaire can steer the car company into an period dominated by artificial intelligence and robotics. Should it fail, Tesla could risk the loss of a pioneering CEO who historically built the company name interchangeable with zero-emission cars.

Record-Breaking Goals and Market Capitalization

Should Musk achieve the ambitious targets specified in the remuneration deal presented at Tesla's shareholder gathering, he could emerge as the world's first person with a trillion-dollar net worth. For this to happen, he must guide Tesla to a staggering $8.5 trillion in market capitalization, which is an eightfold increase its existing market cap. Additionally, he will be tasked to deploy numerous autonomous vehicles and bipedal machines, while sustaining the company's bottom line in the massive revenue figures throughout the coming ten years.

Compensation Structure

The key aims of the remuneration structure, split into 12 tranches, chart a roadmap for Tesla to reach its colossal worth. Should targets be met, Musk would be eligible to benefit from an further 12% of the company's stock. To qualify, he must stay committed with the company for at least 7.5 years. He will also assist in creating a corporate transition roadmap for the business he has headed for more than 20 years. The share grants provided by the latest pay package, in addition to shares assured in his earlier deal, would result in Musk with a quarter stake of Tesla's shares. By the start of November, Tesla stock was trading near its yearly maximum, at approximately $450 each share.

Ambitious Targets

During a ten years, Musk will be required to deliver 20 million zero-emission cars to consumers, market 10 million operational autonomous driving plans, produce and launch 1 million humanoid robots, and introduce 1 million robotaxis in commercial service.

Musk will also be tasked to elevate the firm to $400 billion in tangible revenue for four consecutive quarters. Tesla's tangible revenue for the Q3 2025 were $4.2 billion, 9 percent lower from the previous year.

As of November, Musk's net worth was pegged at $460 billion, the highest in the planet, according to wealth indexes.

Restoring a Revoked Deal

Shareholders are also considering a proposal that would remunerate Musk after his earlier remuneration deal was overturned by a legal authority in Delaware. The remuneration deal, worth an estimated $56 billion, was challenged by a single stockholder who won his case. The Delaware court of chancery rejected Musk's remuneration deal on multiple instances. Should investors pass the plan in the shareholder meeting, Musk is likely to be paid the huge sum regardless of if Tesla and Musk win an appeal of the lawsuit.

Subsequent to Musk's 2018 pay package was initially invalidated, he relocated Tesla's legal headquarters to Texas from Delaware. He repeated the action with his aerospace company and other business entities. In 2024, per Texas statutes, shareholders again voted to approve the compensation plan.

But Delaware's so-called "judicial body" again denied one of the most substantial CEO pay deals in recent times. After that negative decision, Musk took to social media to show frustration with the state and its "activist chief judge", possibly sparking a number of company relocations that Delaware legislators have sought to curb with new laws.

In reviewing whether Musk had excessive control in being granted that previous compensation plan, a respected legal scholar remarked that the court acknowledged that other "superstar CEOs" like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon's Jeff Bezos were not given this type of goal-oriented agreements.