Tesla shareholders have approved a record-breaking compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk that could make him the world’s first trillionaire.
On Thursday, Oct. 6, 75% of Tesla investors voted in favor of a pay package valued at up to $1 trillion, according to CNBC and Business Insider. However, Musk won’t receive the payout automatically. The deal requires him to meet a series of ambitious business targets before he can claim the rewards.
To unlock the full package, Musk must grow Tesla’s market capitalization to $8.5 trillion by 2035, sell 12 million vehicles per year, and deploy both 1 million robotaxis and 1 million humanoid robots, Business Insider reported. He will also need to remain Tesla’s CEO for at least seven and a half years, though he can continue leading his other ventures, including SpaceX and his AI startup, xAI, NBC News noted.
Following the shareholder vote, Musk celebrated on stage at Tesla’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas. Dancing alongside several robots, he told the crowd, “I super appreciate it. Thank you, everyone. What we’re about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter on the future of Tesla but a whole new book.”
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Musk, who already tops the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with an estimated net worth of $461 billion, has faced both support and criticism over the compensation plan. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, for instance, expressed concern that the enormous award could dilute the value of existing shares. “While we appreciate the significant value created under Mr. Musk’s visionary role, we are concerned about the total size of the award, dilution, and lack of mitigation of key person risk,” Norges Bank Investment Management said in a statement reported by NBC News.
The approval follows months of debate among Tesla investors and public scrutiny of Musk’s leadership style and political views. Earlier in 2025, protesters demonstrated outside Tesla showrooms in opposition to his involvement in President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency and the associated federal budget cuts.
Musk and Tesla executives have also discussed their long-term plans to create humanoid robots and self-driving taxis capable of operating autonomously — technologies they believe could reshape the company’s future, though neither has yet been made publicly available.
