Tesla has never done things the conventional way — and neither has Elon Musk. On September 5, Tesla’s board unveiled a pay package for its CEO that could make him the world’s first trillionaire. The number is so staggering that it overshadows Musk’s already jaw-dropping $56 billion package from 2018, which went down in history as the largest CEO pay deal but also got entangled in legal challenges.
This time, the stakes are even higher. The package, valued at up to $1 trillion, isn’t a guaranteed salary. It’s a performance marathon. Musk will only unlock the payout if he achieves a set of almost otherworldly milestones designed by Tesla’s compensation committee.
What does Musk have to deliver?
According to filings, Musk must:
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Push Tesla’s market capitalisation to $8.5 trillion — nearly eight times today’s $1.1 trillion, and almost double Nvidia’s current valuation.
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Scale production to 20 million cars annually.
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Put one million self-driving taxis on the roads.
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Manufacture one million AI-powered humanoid robots.
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Cement Tesla’s place as not just a carmaker, but a global tech powerhouse.
And there’s fine print: Musk must stay on as CEO for at least 7.5 years to receive a portion of the payout, and a full decade to claim the entire sum. If all conditions are met, he would end up with a 12% stake in Tesla, worth about $1.03 trillion at the proposed valuation.
Why the board went this big
The special committee, led by Robyn Denholm and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, met Musk twice to hammer out the plan. They wanted Musk’s undivided attention on Tesla, especially as his ventures in space, AI, and even politics continue to multiply. Musk, for his part, reportedly hinted he could walk away without firm assurances.
The solution? The most aggressive CEO pay plan in corporate history, designed to tie Musk’s fortune to Tesla’s audacious future.
What this means for Tesla (and the markets)
If Musk pulls it off, Tesla would outgrow the auto industry altogether, standing shoulder to shoulder with the world’s largest tech giants. But the conditions — particularly building fleets of robo-taxis and humanoid robots — highlight just how much depends on technologies still under development.
For now, investors are watching closely. Musk has defied odds before, from making electric cars mainstream to landing rockets vertically. But a trillion-dollar payday? That’s ambition on steroids.
