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Investors in the electric car maker convened on Thursday to vote on a enormous compensation package for the company's leader estimated at around $1 trillion. Should it pass, this package would showcase shareholder trust that the billionaire can guide the automaker into an era dominated by machine learning and robotics. Should it fail, Tesla could potentially face the exit of a visionary leader who once made the brand interchangeable with electric vehicles.

Record-Breaking Goals and Market Capitalization

Should Musk achieve the formidable milestones outlined in the pay package presented at Tesla's annual meeting, he could become the first-ever trillionaire. To accomplish this, he must steer Tesla to a astronomical $8.5 trillion in company worth, which is 800% of its existing market cap. Moreover, he will be obligated to deploy countless self-driving cars and humanoid robots, while sustaining the financial performance in the massive revenue figures over the next decade.

Payment Breakdown

The primary objectives of the compensation plan, organized into a dozen phases, chart a trajectory for Tesla to achieve its massive worth. If successful, Musk would be in a position to realize gains on an further 12% of the corporation's shares. To qualify, he must maintain involvement with the company for no less than 7.5 years. Additionally, he must assist in creating a long-term succession plan for the enterprise he has headed for over 20 years. The stock options offered by the new compensation plan, combined with shares guaranteed in his previous compensation plan, would grant Musk with a quarter stake of Tesla's stock. As of early November, Tesla stock was trading close to its 52-week high, at around $450 each share.

Ambitious Targets

Over the course of a ten years, Musk will be obligated to deliver 20 million electric vehicles to customers, sell 10 million live FSD memberships, create and distribute 1 million advanced androids, and deploy 1 million autonomous taxis in paid operations.

Musk will furthermore be tasked to bring the corporation to $400 billion in tangible revenue for four consecutive quarters. Tesla's actual earnings for the third quarter of 2025 were $4.2 billion, 9 percent lower from the same period last year.

As of November, Musk's personal wealth was valued at $460 billion, the highest in the world, based on market tracking.

Reviving a Revoked Deal

Investors are also evaluating a arrangement that would reward Musk after his earlier remuneration deal was invalidated by a judicial body in Delaware. The pay plan, valued at around $56 billion, was contested by a sole shareholder who succeeded legally. The Delaware judicial system dismissed Musk's remuneration deal on two occasions. Should investors pass the proposal in Thursday's vote, Musk is likely to be paid the massive amount regardless of if Tesla and Musk overturn the ruling of the case.

Following Musk's previous compensation plan was first rescinded, he transferred Tesla's corporate home out of Delaware and into Texas. He followed suit with the rocket firm and additional corporate bases. In the previous year, per Texas statutes, shareholders again voted to approve the remuneration deal.

But Delaware's so-called "court of equity" once again rejected one of the biggest CEO payouts in contemporary business. Following that adverse judgment, Musk took to social media to show frustration with the state and its "prominent judicial figure", perhaps igniting a number of company relocations that Delaware legislators have tried to stop with new laws.

In considering whether Musk had improper sway in being granted that 2018 pay package, a noted law professor remarked that the judicial authority acknowledged that other "high-profile executives" like Facebook's founder and Amazon's Jeff Bezos were not granted this kind of goal-oriented agreements.