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Investors in the electric car maker convened on Thursday to decide on a massive compensation package for CEO Elon Musk estimated at around $1 trillion. Should it pass, this plan would demonstrate market faith that the tech magnate can steer the vehicle manufacturer into an era defined by artificial intelligence and robotics. If rejected, Tesla could potentially face the exit of a pioneering CEO who previously established the corporation synonymous with electric vehicles.

Record-Breaking Targets and Company Valuation

If the CEO meets the ambitious objectives specified in the compensation plan introduced at Tesla's corporate assembly, he could become the world's first trillionaire. To reach this goal, he must guide Tesla to a staggering $8.5 trillion in market value, which is eight times its current valuation. Additionally, he will be tasked to deploy countless driverless automobiles and humanoid robots, while sustaining the corporate profits in the hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade.

Reward System

The key aims of the pay package, organized into a dozen phases, chart a trajectory for Tesla to attain its massive valuation. Should targets be met, Musk would be able to realize gains on an additional 12% of the company's stock. For this to occur, he must remain vested with the firm for a minimum of 7.5 years. He will also contribute to forming a long-term succession plan for the organization he has managed for in excess of 20 years. The equity incentives offered by the latest pay package, alongside shares promised in his previous compensation plan, would leave Musk with a quarter stake of Tesla's stock. As of early November, Tesla stock was trading close to its yearly maximum, at approximately $450 each share.

Lofty Goals

Throughout a ten-year period, Musk will be obligated to manufacture 20 million electric vehicles to consumers, sell 10 million active full self-driving subscriptions, develop and sell 1 million advanced androids, and deploy 1 million robotaxis in commercial service.

Musk will also be tasked to bring the corporation to $400 billion in actual earnings for a full year. Tesla's real profits for the July-September 2025 were $4.2 billion, a 9% decrease from the previous year.

In November, Musk's net worth was estimated at $460 billion, the leading in the globe, based on market tracking.

Reviving a Rescinded Package

Investors are also considering a plan that would reward Musk after his previous pay package was overturned by a judicial body in Delaware. The compensation package, valued at around $56 billion, was challenged by a single stockholder who won his case. The state court dismissed Musk's compensation plan on multiple instances. Should investors pass the arrangement in Thursday's vote, Musk is likely to be awarded the substantial payout whether or not Tesla and Musk win an appeal of the lawsuit.

After Musk's previous compensation plan was first rescinded, he moved Tesla's business registration from Delaware to Texas. He repeated the action with SpaceX and other business entities. In last year, under Texas law, shareholders for a second time passed the compensation plan.

But Delaware's so-called "equity court" again rejected one of the biggest CEO pay deals in recent times. Following that adverse judgment, Musk took to social media to show frustration with the jurisdiction and its "influential presiding justice", perhaps fueling a series of corporate exits that Delaware lawmakers have sought to curb with new laws.

In reviewing whether Musk had excessive control in being awarded that previous compensation plan, a prominent law professor observed that the court noted that other "high-profile executives" like Facebook's founder and the e-commerce pioneer were not awarded this type of performance-linked deals.