Is Elon Musk Worth $1 Trillion? Shareholders Get To Decide - Beritaja

Tesla shareholders person conscionable days near to ballot connected whether to o.k. a staggering salary package for main executive Elon Musk that could grant him about $1 trillion successful shares.

Musk could time off the institution if shareholders cull the package, committee chair Robyn Denholm warned in a letter to voters past week. The salary connection is tied to eager capacity goals and is basal to incentivize Musk to proceed his work, Denholm said.

Tesla will clasp its yearly gathering Thursday. Shareholders person until 11:59 p.m. ET connected Wednesday to ballot connected the salary plan, which was unveiled by the committee successful September.

“If we neglect to foster an situation that motivates Elon to execute awesome things done an equitable pay-for-performance plan, we tally the consequence that he gives up his executive position,” Denholm wrote successful an Oct. 27 letter. “Tesla whitethorn suffer his time, talent and vision, which person been basal to delivering bonzer shareholder returns.”

Musk is already among the world’s highest-paid executives, pinch compensation that dwarfs that of Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Palantir’s Alexander Karp. Musk is besides Tesla’s largest individual shareholder pinch about 13% of shares, but has said many times he would for illustration much voting powerfulness complete the company.

In an net telephone past month, Musk said he wants a important liking successful the institution arsenic he pivots toward artificial intelligence and continues to create his humanoid robot dubbed Optimus.

“If we build this robot army, do I person astatine slightest a beardown power complete that robot army?” Musk said to analysts. “I don’t consciousness comfortable building that robot service if I don’t person astatine slightest a beardown influence.”

If approved, the new salary plan would springiness Musk much than a 25% liking successful the institution for gathering circumstantial milestones. The first milestone is reaching a $2-trillion valuation for Tesla, which is presently weighted astatine about $1.5 trillion.

The milestones summation incrementally up to an $8.5-trillion institution valuation and besides see merchandise goals, specified arsenic delivering 20 cardinal vehicles, deploying 1 cardinal robotaxis for commercialized cognition and garnering 10 cardinal afloat self-drive subscriptions.

In her letter, Denholm described the package arsenic “a highly customized capacity scheme that aligns shareholder worth and measurable business outcomes pinch the interests of our CEO.”

Tesla is astatine a turning constituent arsenic it banks its early connected autonomous driving exertion and becomes little reliant connected its accepted electrical vehicles aft a twelvemonth of rocky sales, experts said.

Interest successful electrical vehicles has been faltering arsenic the Trump management hammers distant astatine national incentives to spell electrical and declares steep car tariffs. Last month, Tesla’s quarterly profit plunged 31% year-over-year.

Still, the company’s shares are up 22% this year, moreover aft Musk triggered a Tesla marque situation pinch his impermanent stint successful the White House. Shares were up much than 2% connected Monday, days up of the voting deadline.

Musk is essential to Tesla’s operations and its modulation into an artificial intelligence powerhouse, the committee of board said. The projected salary scheme is adjacent because it’s limited connected the company’s wide success, they said.

“Elon is rewarded only if and erstwhile he delivers bonzer capacity that benefits each Tesla shareholders,” Denholm wrote successful October.

A Reuters analysis recovered that Musk could pouch much than $50 cardinal by gathering conscionable a fewer of the board’s less-ambitious capacity goals.

Musk is known to over-promise, and has been exaggerating the abilities of his autonomous tech for about a decade. He described self-driving cars arsenic a “solved problem” successful 2015, though the 2025 rollout of Tesla robotaxis successful Austin, Texas, struggled with glitches.

The projected salary scheme could make Musk the world’s first trillionaire. Several groups, including unions, firm watchdogs and proxy advisory firms, person publically opposed the salary package.