Tech billionaire Elon Musk has alienated legions of potential car buyers, rattled investors, and drawn deserved scrutiny for his political antics—and now he’s asking for a payday that could make him the world’s first trillionaire.
When Tesla shareholders meet Thursday in Austin, Texas, they’ll vote on whether to grant Musk a compensation package that could very well make him the world’s first trillionaire. If the proposal fails, Musk has threatened to walk away from the electric vehicle company.
Musk’s supporters say the stock award would reward performance. In reality, it’s an obscene display of wealth in a country where millions face losing federal food assistance amid the GOP-led government shutdown.
A Tesla electric-vehicle charger in Georgia, shown in 2024.
According to CNN, the plan would hand Musk as many as 423.7 million more shares in Tesla over the next decade, worth roughly $1 trillion if Tesla hits an $8.5 trillion market cap, which is a requirement for Musk to qualify for that unfathomable amount of money.
In the past, Tesla shareholders have approved Musk’s pay packages, but this one has drawn unusual backlash. Tesla itself warned that Musk had “raised the possibility that he may pursue other interests” if denied. That threat looms large over a company whose stock price remains volatile.
CalPERS, the nation’s largest public-sector pension fund, and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund are urging shareholders to vote against Tesla’s board, according to ABC News. They say the board is too closely aligned with Musk. Even the Vatican has condemned the potential payout as a symbol of widening wealth inequality.
“If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble,” Pope Leo XIV said.
Musk hasn’t taken the criticism well, unsurprisingly. He’s accused opponents of being “corporate terrorists.”
To secure the deal, Musk needs approval from a majority of Tesla’s voting shareholders—though he’ll get to cast his own sizable vote, controlling about 15% of the company. The proposed plan was first disclosed in September in a 200-page filing to federal regulators, which also detailed other agenda items for the annual meeting, including whether Tesla should invest in Musk’s AI startup, xAI.
Demonstrators protest against Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency outside a Tesla dealership in Kansas City, Missouri, in April.
If his ludicrous payout is approved, Musk won’t pocket all the money at once—or possibly ever. He’ll have to hit a range of targets, including the company producing its 20 millionth vehicle. Still, even if he falls short, he stands to gain billions.
The timing is awkward, to say the least. As of publishing, Musk is worth over $490 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time data. That puts him far ahead of anyone else on earth. And while Tesla’s market value has soared to $1.5 trillion, the company’s financials have softened—sales and profits dropped in the first half of the year, and the loss of federal EV subsidies has created new headwinds.
Tesla’s rise has rested mainly on investors’ faith in Musk. But his recent track record—political distractions and impulsive public comments—has rattled even longtime believers.
“He frequently teeters on the edge of disaster,” Tesla investor Nancy Tengler told ABC, “and then pulls back just in the nick of time.”
Whether he’ll pull it off again remains to be seen. For now, the world’s richest man is angling for what could be history’s biggest payday—all while millions of Americans brace for the next missed paycheck.
