Tesla seeks $1trn pay package for Elon Musk

The world's richest man could be in line for a roughly $1trn pay award.

Elon Musk's electric car company, Tesla, is trying to pay him about $1trn over the next decade.

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Under the proposal, Mr Musk would receive no salary or bonus but instalments of company shares for hitting ambitious targets around increasing Tesla's market share, sales, revenue and company value.

It's hoped that the incentives will drive Mr Musk's performance after he left his role at the US government's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and returned to spending time in the office as Tesla's chief executive.

Could he get it?

Tesla has regularly missed sales targets and struggled with plans to launch a robotaxi and supply chain woes.

It's seeking to move away from producing just electric vehicles and move into robotics and artificial intelligence (AI).

But to obtain the share tranches, very early in the plan Tesla would have to reach a market valuation of $2trn, nearly double the current value, and achieve 20 million vehicle deliveries.

Over the next decade, Tesla would have to be valued at around $7.5trn, nearly eight times the current worth.

Tesla delivered fewer than two million vehicles in 2024.

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The deliveries milestone also requires a million robotaxis to be in commercial operation and the delivery of a million artificial intelligence bots.

Mr Musk will also need to remain at Tesla for at least seven and a half years to cash out on any stock, and 10 years to earn the full amount.

A condition of the final, 11th and 12th tranches of the plan involves Mr Musk coming up with a succession plan for his CEO role.

As well as getting shares, Mr Musk would also receive more voting rights within Tesla under the proposed plan.

Investors will vote on the proposal at Tesla's annual shareholders meeting on 6 November.

Just last month, the company board signed off on a $29bn (£21.8bn) share award to Elon Musk after a court blocked an earlier package worth almost double that sum.

(c) Sky News 2025: Tesla seeks $1trn pay package for Elon Musk