- Tesla shareholders approve Elon Musk’s record $1 trillion pay package with 75% support
- Musk must raise Tesla’s market value from $1.4T to $8.5T over 10 years to qualify
- Board warns losing Musk could harm Tesla’s future growth
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has secured shareholder approval for a record-breaking pay package potentially worth nearly $1 trillion (£760 billion).
At Tesla’s annual general meeting on Thursday, 75% of shareholders voted in favour of the deal, which received loud applause from attendees in Austin, Texas.
The package, one of the largest in corporate history, ties Musk’s compensation to ambitious performance targets over the next decade — including increasing Tesla’s market value from $1.4 trillion to $8.5 trillion and deploying one million self-driving Robotaxi vehicles.
While critics have described the payout as excessive, Tesla’s board defended the plan, arguing that Musk’s leadership is vital to the company’s future and that failing to approve it could risk losing him.
After the vote, Musk took the stage to cheers, declaring, “What we’re about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter in Tesla’s future, but a whole new book.”
During the meeting, Musk focused heavily on Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot project, downplaying discussions about the company’s struggling electric vehicle business. Analyst Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management noted that Musk’s remarks showed “where his head is at,” with little mention of cars, Full Self-Driving (FSD), or robotaxis.
Later, Musk said Tesla was “almost comfortable” letting drivers “text and drive essentially,” referring to the firm’s FSD system — currently under investigation by US regulators after several crashes linked to the technology.
Tesla’s shares rose slightly in after-hours trading and are up more than 60% over the past six months. However, the company continues to face declining sales, rising competition, and public backlash over Musk’s political stances and social media presence.
Investor Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, said the approval marked “another notch in the unbelievable things you see in business,” but warned that Tesla’s challenges remain significant. He noted uncertainty about demand for humanoid robots and competition from firms like Waymo in the robotaxi market.
Tesla’s new pay deal follows a similar 2018 plan that was struck down earlier this year by a Delaware court over governance concerns. Since then, Tesla has moved its incorporation from Delaware to Texas, and the case remains under review by the Delaware Supreme Court.
Major institutional investors, including Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and CalPERS, voted against the deal, leaving Musk to rely heavily on Tesla’s large base of retail shareholders.
Despite criticism, analysts such as Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities described Musk as “Tesla’s biggest asset,” predicting that the company’s AI-driven valuation will continue to rise.
