A pivotal vote at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting this week could set the stage for CEO Elon Musk to become the world’s first trillionaire, contingent on the electric vehicle giant achieving unprecedented growth over the next decade.
The proposed 2025 compensation plan, valued at up to $1 trillion, links Musk’s award to a series of ambitious financial and operational milestones. To earn an additional 12% stake in the company, Musk must guide Tesla to a market capitalization of $8.5 trillion by 2035—a figure nearly equivalent to the combined value of Meta, Microsoft, and Alphabet. The plan also mandates the delivery of 20 million vehicles, 10 million active full self-driving subscriptions, 1 million humanoid robots, and a fleet of 1 million operational robo-taxis.
This vote represents a second attempt to secure a massive payout for Musk after a 2018 compensation package, worth an estimated $56 billion, was invalidated twice by a Delaware court. Legal proceedings regarding that award are ongoing. The company’s board has framed the new proposal as essential to retaining Musk’s leadership, warning that its rejection could risk his departure.
The proposal has ignited debate among major institutional investors. While some advisory firms have recommended voting against the plan, citing its sheer size and concerns over shareholder dilution, other significant investment funds have publicly pledged their support. Notably, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, a top-ten Tesla shareholder, announced its opposition, expressing worry about the award’s scale and the concentration of “key person risk.”
The shareholder meeting also includes votes on other proposals, including a request for a child labor audit, which the board advises voting down.
If approved and fully realized, the package would increase Musk’s ownership stake in Tesla to over 25%. The company’s board asserts that the outlined goals are “extraordinarily difficult” but necessary to align executive and shareholder interests for Tesla’s long-term dominance. The outcome of Thursday’s vote will not only shape the future of Tesla’s leadership but also set a new benchmark for executive compensation.