Elon Musk's Trillionaire Ambitions: Shareholders Back Unprecedented Pay Plan

Fri Nov 07 2025 03:49:57 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a significant shareholder vote, Elon Musk has been given a pathway to potentially become the first trillionaire through a controversial new compensation package tied to ambitious performance targets at Tesla.

Tesla shareholders overwhelmingly approved a pay package that could see CEO Elon Musk accumulate stock valued at $1 trillion over the next decade, contingent on achieving ambitious targets amid ongoing challenges for the company. While some investors express deep faith in Musk's leadership, critics voice concerns regarding the excessive nature of the compensation and Musk's recent controversies.

NEW YORK (AP) — In a landmark decision, Elon Musk was given the opportunity to become the world’s first trillionaire after more than 75% of Tesla shareholders approved a controversial pay package aimed at incentivizing his performance over the next decade.

The approved plan, which is contingent upon Musk meeting ambitious performance targets, could grant him stock valued at $1 trillion. This approval comes at a time when Tesla faces declining sales and market challenges, largely attributed to Musk's controversial public engagements and political involvement.

Despite a backdrop of strong dissent from some shareholders and major investment funds—such as California's public pension and Norway's sovereign wealth fund—Musk declared the vote a “fantastic” outcome and encouraged investors to hold onto their Tesla stock.

The vote highlighted divisions among investors, with some viewing Musk as an invaluable leader capable of pioneering extraordinary business success, akin to his past achievements in steering Tesla away from financial ruin.

However, critics assert the size of Musk's compensation reflects poor governance, accusing the board of granting excessive rewards while ignoring the risks posed by Musk's recent behavior. Institutional shareholder advisory firms, ISS and Glass Lewis, voiced their objections, further emphasizing the divide between Musk's supporters and opponents.

Key to this pay plan are ambitious targets: Musk must nearly sextuple Tesla’s current stock market value, deliver 20 million electric vehicles over 10 years—twice the number produced since the company's inception— and deploy over one million humanoid robots, termed a “robot army” by Musk himself.

While investor sentiment remained cautiously positive, with Tesla shares seeing a slight uptick after news of the vote, the sustainability of Musk's leadership and the fulfillment of these lofty targets remain subjects of intense scrutiny.

For Musk, the vote was not merely about financial gain but rather a strategic move to enhance his stake in the company from approximately 15% to nearly 30%, asserting control over Tesla's ambitious technological future, emphasizing the paramount importance of stewardship over the proposed robot initiative.