Income

Tesla Shareholders Approve Musk's $1 Trillion Pay Package

NOV 6 2025·Updated NOV 7 2025

Story

Above: Elon Musk in the Oval Office on May 30, 2025. Image credit: Allison Robbert/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

Tesla shareholders on Thursday approved a $1 trillion pay deal for Elon Musk by a 75% majority. The package is structured in 12 tranches tied to ambitious performance milestones, including growing Tesla's valuation to $8.5 trillion from around $1.4 trillion.
The New York Times
Financial Times
The compensation plan requires Musk to meet specific operational goals, including — for his first tranche — delivering 20 million Tesla vehicles, deploying a million robotaxis for commercial operation, and securing 10 million full self-driving subscriptions over the proposed timeframe.
The Wall Street Journal
Los Angeles Times
Reuters
The nod came at Tesla's annual shareholders meeting in Austin, Texas, and increases Musk's ownership from about 13% to 25%, giving him more voting power.
FOX News
Shai Akabas
Norway's sovereign wealth fund, which holds a 1.16% stake as Tesla's sixth-largest institutional investor, had earlier announced that it would vote against the pay package even though it appreciates "the significant value created under Mr. Musk’s visionary role."
The Washington Times
CNBC
Major proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services had also recommended that shareholders vote against the package, while Baron Capital Management and Florida's public pension fund expressed support for the compensation plan.
Al Jazeera
Breitbart
BBC News
Tesla Board Chair Robyn Denholm warned shareholders that rejecting the pay package could risk Musk's departure from the company, stating that Tesla "may lose his time, talent, and vision," which have been essential to delivering shareholder returns.
The New York Times
FOX News

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Musk's compensation package is essential for Tesla's future as the company transitions from a traditional automaker to an AI-focused technology leader. Without Musk's visionary leadership, Tesla risks losing significant value and falling behind in critical areas like full self-driving and robotics. The pay structure only rewards Musk if he creates enormous shareholder value, making it a smart investment.

Market Watch

CNBC

Narrative B

This pay package represents corporate excess at its worst, with Tesla's current valuation only justified by blind faith in Musk. Tesla's EV sales are declining, while Musk's political controversies have damaged the brand globally. Yet shareholders are being asked to reward him. Institutional investors and Norway's sovereign wealth fund rightly recognize this is too much dependence on a distracted leader.

The Register