Tesla’s board is dangling the biggest carrot in corporate history: a pay package that could make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire. But before he gets his hands on the full prize, he’ll need to help pick the next Elon Musk.
The deal, revealed in filings this week, ties Musk’s compensation to a list of staggering milestones. We’re talking 20 million Teslas delivered annually, one million robotaxis on the road, one million Optimus humanoid robots sold, and 10 million people paying for Full Self-Driving subscriptions.
To unlock the final tranches of stock awards, Musk also has to help build a framework for CEO succession.
Tesla admits Musk is integral to the company’s future, but also recognises he won’t be there forever. As the filing put it, planning for a leadership transition is critical to Tesla’s “long-term stability.” Musk’s input, the board believes, is essential in creating a strategy for the day he eventually steps down or blasts off for Mars.
The package, which could ultimately exceed $1 trillion in value, is unprecedented. To put it in perspective, Tesla would need to hit an $8.5 trillion market cap, more than double Nvidia’s current valuation, and generate $400 billion in annual earnings.
The bar has never been set this high for a CEO, let alone one already paid more than anyone in history.
But Musk isn’t bulletproof. Tesla’s brand has been battered over the past year, with sliding demand in key markets like China, controversial forays into politics, and billions in losses tied to missed EV targets.
Shareholders have complained Musk spends more time making headlines than running the business. Analysts even suggested the board has quietly started scouting replacements, claims the company denies.
The trillion-dollar package is Tesla’s way of keeping Musk motivated and anchored, despite the turbulence. Last month alone, he was awarded around $30 billion in stock, and now the board has raised the stakes again.
Still, if Musk wants to secure every cent, he’ll have to balance his ambitions. Hitting those world-shaking production and tech goals is one thing.
Drawing up a succession plan is another. The irony is that the easiest box to tick—preparing a PowerPoint about his eventual replacement might be the one Musk resists the most.
