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Investors in the electric car maker assembled this Thursday to decide on a massive remuneration plan for CEO Elon Musk valued at around $1 trillion. If approved, this plan would showcase market faith that the tech magnate can steer the vehicle manufacturer into an age dominated by machine learning and automation. If rejected, Tesla could confront the loss of a pioneering CEO who once made the company name interchangeable with zero-emission cars.

Record-Breaking Milestones and Company Valuation

Should Musk achieve the lofty objectives outlined in the compensation plan introduced at Tesla's shareholder gathering, he could become the first-ever person with a trillion-dollar net worth. For this to happen, he must guide Tesla to a monumental $8.5 trillion in market value, which is eight times its current valuation. Furthermore, he will be obligated to deploy numerous autonomous vehicles and advanced androids, while upholding the financial performance in the hundreds of billions of dollars in the upcoming decade.

Reward System

The primary objectives of the remuneration structure, divided into twelve stages, chart a path for Tesla to attain its colossal market capitalization. If successful, Musk would be in a position to realize gains on an further 12% of the corporation's shares. For this to occur, he must stay committed with the corporation for a minimum of 7.5 years. Furthermore, he is required to contribute to forming a corporate transition roadmap for the enterprise he has managed for in excess of 20 years. The stock options awarded by the new compensation plan, alongside shares assured in his previous compensation plan, would result in Musk with 25 percent equity of Tesla's equity. As of early November, Tesla equity was priced near its annual peak, at approximately $450 per share.

Ambitious Targets

Throughout a decade, Musk will be tasked to produce 20 million zero-emission cars to consumers, market 10 million active full self-driving subscriptions, develop and sell 1 million advanced androids, and deploy 1 million self-driving cabs in paid operations.

Musk will furthermore be obligated to bring the firm to $400 billion in actual earnings for four consecutive quarters. Tesla's actual earnings for the Q3 2025 were $4.2 billion, down 9% from the previous year.

As of November, Musk's net worth was pegged at $460 billion, the leading in the world, based on financial data.

Reinstating a Rescinded Plan

Investors are also considering a proposal that would compensate Musk after his previous pay package was overturned by a court in Delaware. The pay plan, valued at around $56 billion, was disputed by a individual investor who prevailed in court. The Delaware court of chancery denied Musk's pay package on two occasions. If shareholders approve the arrangement in Thursday's vote, Musk is set to be granted the massive amount regardless of if Tesla and Musk overturn the ruling of the case.

After Musk's previous compensation plan was initially invalidated, he relocated Tesla's corporate home to Texas from Delaware. He repeated the action with his aerospace company and additional corporate bases. In the previous year, per Texas statutes, shareholders again voted to approve the pay package.

But Delaware's often referred to as "court of equity" once again ruled against one of the biggest CEO pay deals in recent times. After that negative decision, Musk took to social media to express dissatisfaction with the region and its "prominent judicial figure", possibly igniting a number of company relocations that Delaware lawmakers have sought to curb with new laws.

In evaluating whether Musk had improper sway in being given that earlier remuneration deal, a respected academic expert commented that the judge noted that other "celebrity leaders" like Facebook's founder and the e-commerce pioneer were not granted this kind of incentive-based contracts.