Elon Musk is on the path to becoming the world’s first trillionaire after Tesla shareholders overwhelmingly backed an extremely generous pay package arrangement.
The X owner is in line to receive stock awards valued at up to $1trillion after the proposal secured more than 75 per cent support at the company’s annual gathering in Austin, Texas.
The vote represents a decisive endorsement of Mr Musk’s leadership despite significant opposition from institutional investors and Tesla’s plummeting sales.
Speaking to investors, Mr Musk described them as “fantastic group of shareholders” and pleaded voters to “hang on to your Tesla stock”.
Elon Musk set to be become world’s first trillionaire after Tesla shareholder vote
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GETTY
The unprecedented package would position Mr Musk to potentially become history’s first trillionaire, though achieving this milestone depends on meeting stringent performance criteria over the coming decade.
The compensation structure demands extraordinary achievements from Musk across multiple fronts. He must expand Tesla’s market capitalisation to nearly six times its present valuation whilst delivering 20 million electric vehicles over the ten-year period.
Additionally, the package requires deployment of one million humanoid robots, which Musk has described as a “robot army” intended to revolutionise both workplace and domestic environments.
However, these machines represent an entirely new venture for Tesla, with none currently in operation.
The arrangement comprises 12 separate tranches tied to specific operational and financial benchmarks, with Mr Musk potentially earning billions through partial achievement of these intermediate targets.
Notably, the compensation plan faced fierce resistance from prominent institutional investors and corporate governance advisers.
CalPERS, America’s largest public pension scheme, joined Norway’s sovereign wealth fund in opposing the arrangement.
Corporate advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis strongly criticised the package, prompting Musk to label them “corporate terrorists” during a recent investor gathering.
These watchdogs argued the board showed excessive deference to Musk whilst the proposed rewards were disproportionate.
Critics highlighted Elon Musk’s existing wealth and questioned the necessity of such incentives.
“He has hundreds of billions of dollars already in the company and to say that he won’t stay without a trillion is ridiculous,” noted analyst Sam Abuelsamid.
The approval arrives amid significant headwinds for Tesla, including a sharp downturn in European deliveries.
Elon Musk has came under fire for involvement in politics on X
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GETTYRecent data revealed a 50 per cent sales collapse in Germany, with the company grappling with increased competition and declining market share.
Mr Musk’s increasing political engagement and controversial public statements have contributed to customer defections this year.
Nevertheless, supporters view him as essential to Tesla’s artificial intelligence ambitions, with analyst Dan Ives calling the vote “a huge win for shareholders”.
The compensation could eventually surpass John D Rockefeller’s inflation-adjusted peak wealth of $630billion, according to Guinness World Records. Forbes currently estimates Musk’s net worth at $493 billion.