Elon Musk may soon be world’s first trillionaire

Shareholders have overwhelmingly approved a historic compensation package for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, one that could grant him up to $1 trillion in restricted stock over the next decade. According to company filings, more than 75 percent of votes at Tesla’s recent shareholder meeting supported the plan — a 12-tranche structure tied to bold performance milestones.

This was reported by CNN.

A landmark decision that could make Musk the world’s first trillionaire

The incentive scheme is designed to tie Musk’s future pay to key milestones: boosting the company’s market capitalization to around $8.5 trillion, producing millions of vehicles, deploying a robotaxi fleet and manufacturing humanoid robots. Only by hitting these goals will Musk unlock the full value of the plan — which critics argue is both unprecedented and risky. 

Institutional investors brought strong views to the decision. Norges Bank Investment Management, manager of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, publicly opposed the package, citing concerns such as shareholder dilution and overconcentration of power. Despite that, the vote succeeded comfortably. 

In his remarks after the vote, Musk said the approval marked not just a "new chapter" but "a whole new book" for the company. Yet Tesla faces mounting commercial challenges, including falling profitability, weakening sales in key markets and increasing competition in electric vehicles and autonomous systems. The pay deal therefore reinforces the company’s deep reliance on Musk’s vision to lead it through a strategic pivot into AI, robotics and next-generation mobility. 

As the package moves into effect, Musk’s tenure and Tesla’s long-term ambition will be closely watched — both by investors and regulators who question whether such an extraordinary reward is justified.

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