Tesla shareholders approve $1 trillion pay package for Elon Musk

Elon Musk has secured a new compensation deal from Tesla. On November 6, more than 75% of voting shareholders supported a plan that could give him as much as $1 trillion in stock if the company hits tough goals in the next decade. The package is the largest ever for a company leader. Musk’s new contract replaces the older 2018 plan that a Delaware court rejected earlier this year.

Board members said this agreement will keep Musk focused on growing Tesla, especially as the company moves deeper into AI and robotics. At the meeting, Musk thanked shareholders, saying, “What we’re about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter in the future of Tesla but a whole new book”.

Tesla’s 10-Year targets

To get any of the payment, Musk must deliver results. He will only get each part of the stock grant after Tesla hits clear business milestones. The board broke the award into 12 segments. Each ties to a specific target.

He must boost Tesla’s market value from about $1.5 trillion today to $8.5 trillion by 2035. The payout starts at $2 trillion and rises in steps of $500 billion, with the final goals at $8.5 trillion. If Tesla succeeds, its value will exceed today’s giants like Microsoft, Apple, and Google combined.

Extra business marks also matter. Tesla must:

Deliver 20 million vehicles overall
Reach 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions
Ship 1 million Optimus humanoid robots
Put 1 million robotaxis on public roads
Grow yearly profit from $17 billion to $400 billion

Every goal is big. Tesla’s robotaxi service already began in a small part of Austin this June, and Optimus robots were demoed on stage during the shareholder meeting. Still, reaching the full targets will take years.

Dancing Optimus: Video

Optimus can dance pic.twitter.com/i6PYIUxsSn
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) November 6, 2025

Who supported and opposed the deal

Major investors, like Charles Schwab Asset Management and ARK Invest, supported the new package. They believe it aligns Musk’s drive with shareholder interests. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey called the vote an engineering crossroads for Tesla. Others, such as Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and public pension funds, voted no, worried about the size and risk of relying too much on one leader.

Proxy advisers Glass Lewis and ISS told investors to vote no, saying the grant would dilute other shareholders’ control and was simply too large. Tesla’s board argued the plan locks in Musk at a key time by tying all rewards to success.

Pay package structure and safeguards

If Musk fails on any key targets, he gets nothing. The award has no salary or cash bonus. Each chunk is linked to both financial and operational progress. If Tesla surpasses every hurdle, Musk’s control could rise to 25%. The plan includes rules to stop abuse, like a clause that blocks extra payments if Tesla falls back after hitting a target.

The board also required Musk to help secure a CEO succession plan for the company to get the final payment phase. The package keeps all payments tied to Tesla’s real performance, not to stock price jumps alone.

Other shareholder meeting votes

Shareholders also voted on whether Tesla should invest in Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI. The proposal passed with a mix of support and abstains, but it’s just an advisory vote. Tesla’s board will decide what comes next. Shareholders also approved annual votes for all board members and reelected three directors. Some investors raised concern that lines between Musk’s projects are becoming blurred, but board members said Tesla’s self-driving ambitions rely on advanced AI, which xAI could help develop.

Updates on technology and production

At the meeting, Musk outlined new technology. The next-gen AI5 chip, made by Samsung and TSMC, will be 40 times faster than today’s hardware and is set for wider rollout in 2027. Tesla aims for Cybercab robotaxi production in April 2026, with plans to build up to 3 million per year if all goes well.

Tesla’s market value is near $1.5 trillion. To get the full bonus, it needs to grow by about 466%. Tesla’s profits topped $17.45 billion last year, but reaching $400 billion a year will be a major leap. Stocks dropped 3.5% on the day of the vote, but analysts say the vote confirms Musk’s importance to Tesla’s future.

Legal challenges

Musk’s 2018 pay plan is tied up in Delaware courts. Tesla already moved its headquarters to Texas, where rules make such lawsuits harder for shareholders. The new plan only pays Musk if he produces real results. If Delaware courts block the older package, Tesla must follow different payout plans already agreed with Musk.

Musk’s net worth stands near $473 billion, the world’s highest. Still, he only gets the full package if Tesla reaches all its goals. Tesla’s board made clear the deal is about keeping Musk at Tesla so he can finish what he started. The next decade will test whether Musk and Tesla can hit the huge marks set in this deal. Every target is public, and only concrete wins pay out.

You can watch the full 2025 Tesla annual shareholder meeting below:

Tesla Annual meeting starting now
https://t.co/j1KHf3k6ch
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2025

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