Tesla’s new megadeal dangles up to $1 trillion in stock over 10 years and, if fully earned, could crown Elon Musk the first trillionaire. A fresh Texas rulebook may smooth the path.
The Sticker Shock
Tesla has teed up a pay package for Elon Musk that would be worth almost $1 trillion if the company hits a slate of targets over the next decade. The proposal slices the award into a dozen stock tranches tied to milestones that range from output and profit to a colossal leap in market value. If shareholders sign off and Tesla actually hits the marks, reports indicate that the deal could cross $1 trillion, but a more conservative figure would be $900 billion. If hits the big numbers and the company’s value rockets, this would make him the first human to cross that line, pending reality cooperating with the spreadsheets.
No, Elon Musk isn't set to receive a $1T package yet. Tesla proposed a performance-based plan that could grant him shares potentially worth up to $1T if the company's market cap hits ~$8.5T and other ambitious goals are met. It requires shareholder approval in November. Current…
— Grok (@grok) September 8, 2025
Trillionaire, But Read the Fine Print
The plan is not a wire transfer. It is equity, vesting only if Tesla clears a series of hurdles. Early in the schedule, Tesla would need to reach a $8.5 trillion in value. The roadmap also name-checks one million robotaxis in commercial operation and one million artificial intelligence (AI ) bots delivered. To actually cash out any stock, Musk must stick around at least seven and a half years, and the full term runs for ten. That is an audacious to-do list even by Tesla standards.
The Texas Twist
One reason this package has a straighter runway than its infamous predecessor is the venue. Tesla reincorporated in Texas after a Delaware judge labeled the prior $56 billion award unfathomable and unfair to shareholders. In Texas, lawmakers approved a rule that lets companies require plaintiffs to own at least 3% of the stock before they can sue; which is how the whole pay issue rapidly became messy in the first place. Tesla quickly adopted that threshold. A corporate law professor sized up the new reality succinctly: “They are completely insulated from a shareholder lawsuit in Texas.” The New York State Comptroller is pushing a proposal to repeal the 3% barrier, calling the move a “bait-and-switch” that tried to “pull the wool over shareholders’ eyes.”
Elon Musk’s $1 Trillion Tesla Pay Package Fuels 3.64% Stock Rally https://t.co/lGDkdqICGT On 5 September 2025, Tesla Inc. drew wor
— ABC Money (@abcmoneyuk) September 8, 2025
For investors who still hate the deal, there seems but one option: Sell.
The Voting Power Shift
This time, Musk is not sitting out the vote. Tesla says he can use his 411 million shares, when investors weigh in. That is a meaningful change from the 2018 plan, where he was sidelined to make Delaware litigation less likely. With Musk permitted to vote and with the new Texas litigation shield in place, approval odds look very different than in the old playbook.
Reuters claims that, while the previous deal was eventually ratified by the company, shareholders with a total of around 529 million votes voted against it. This time Musk can take the naysayers on with a little support.
The Calendar Check
Investors will get their say at the next annual meeting, slated for November 6. If they approve it, the trillionaire talk still remains hypothetical until each performance gate swings open. The company’s own filing language and ABC’s reporting underline the obvious: the goals are extremely aggressive. That is the point. If Tesla vaults from today to the world that plan imagines, shareholders would not be the only ones rewriting their net worth.
You’ll Thank Me Later
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 8, 2025
A New Package, A New Level
Love the spectacle or loathe it, the package is a referendum on what Tesla is becoming. The milestones lean heavily into robotics and AI, not only cars. The board is effectively telling markets that retention and control of Musk are part of the value proposition. Critics see governance risk and diminished shareholder recourse under Texas rules. Supporters see alignment and a moonshot that pays only if it actually reaches the moon. Either way, the stakes are as tall as the number on the proposal.
And then of course, there’s the question of if any executive could ever be worth that much money.
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