Key Points
• Tesla proposes a stock-based compensation plan worth up to $1 trillion for CEO Elon Musk
• Package tied to highly ambitious performance milestones over the next decade
• Proposal faces scrutiny from shareholders and governance groups ahead of an upcoming vote
ISLAMABAD: Tesla has unveiled a performance-linked pay package for Elon Musk that could reach a staggering $1 trillion if all targets are achieved, potentially making him the first trillion-dollar CEO in history.
The proposal, disclosed in regulatory filings, has sparked intense debate across financial and corporate circles over executive pay, governance, and shareholder rights.
According to Tesla’s board, the proposed package aims to retain and incentivise Musk to lead the company through its next phase of innovation in artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous mobility. The deal would grant Musk approximately 423.7 million additional Tesla shares, with payouts tied to a series of aggressive financial and operational goals.
To unlock the full package, Tesla must reach extraordinary milestones — including a market capitalisation of around $8.5 trillion, annual production of 20 million vehicles, and the deployment of one million humanoid robots and one million robotaxis. Analysts describe these benchmarks as “historic and unprecedented” in scale. The proposed figure does not represent a yearly salary; rather, it is a long-term, performance-based stock compensation plan spread over roughly ten years. If Tesla achieves the specified milestones, Musk could gradually receive stock options whose combined value might eventually approach one trillion dollars, making this the largest potential payout ever conceived for a corporate executive.
Critics, however, warn that the plan could further concentrate corporate power in Musk’s hands. Several shareholder advocacies groups have voiced concerns, arguing that the compensation is excessive and may distort corporate governance. “Rewarding a single executive with potential trillion-dollar wealth risks undermining shareholder equality,” said a governance expert quoted by Al Jazeera.
The proposal will be subject to a shareholder vote expected later this month, replacing the previously projected November 6 timeline. Tesla’s board has defended the plan, calling it “an incentive for transformational performance” that ties Musk’s fortune directly to company success.
If approved, the package would become the largest CEO compensation plan in corporate history — eclipsing Musk’s previous $55 billion stock award from 2018 — and would mark a defining moment in debates about income inequality and executive accountability in global business.
