If Elon Musk manages to increase Tesla's stock market value for shareholders to more than 8 trillion (8,000 billion) dollars in the next decade, he has a good chance of becoming the first trillionaire in the world and in history, The Guardian reports.
That could happen if shareholders approve the latest compensation plan proposed for the “superstar executive,” as a US judge once called him. The vote will take place at Tesla's annual shareholder meeting, scheduled to be held in Austin, Texas, on Thursday afternoon. If it does not take longer than expected, the result of the vote will be known in Romania on Thursday evening or at night, considering the difference in the time zone compared to the USA.
“If Elon meets all of the performance targets outlined in this principle-based 2025 CEO Performance Award, his leadership will propel Tesla to become the most valuable company in history,” Tesla's board said in its annual statement to shareholders.
Prospective measures on a trillion dollar compensation for Musk are not the only items on the agenda. Shareholders will also consider another way to pay Musk the estimated $56 billion the company says he is still owed under a 2018 compensation plan.
The previous compensation package was struck down twice by a court in the US state of Delaware after an individual shareholder challenged it in court. The case went all the way to the state Supreme Court, which has yet to issue a decision.
Elon Musk's Road to a Trillion Dollars
The compensation package proposed by Tesla's Board of Directors contains targets that are not limited to increasing the company's stock market capitalization.
The mapped goals are divided into 12 “tranches”, each with its own cumulative provisions. The first tranche involves reaching a market capitalization of two trillion dollars. The next nine tranches call for an additional increase of $500 billion each until reaching $8.5 trillion by 2035. Each financial goal also corresponds with a product development requirement.
To earn a 12 percent stake in the company over the next decade, Musk must also deliver 20 million Tesla electric vehicles to buyers, reach 10 million active subscriptions to the fully autonomous driving system, produce one million humanoid robots and put one million robotaxis into commercial service.
He is also expected to grow the company's actual revenue to $400 billion for four consecutive quarters. Actual revenue for the third quarter of 2025 was $4.2 billion, down 9% from the prior year.
Ultimately, Musk must grow Tesla's market value from about $1.5 trillion today to $8.5 trillion by 2035. He must also remain involved with the company for at least seven and a half years and help craft a long-term succession plan. As the value of the company increases, so will the value of the shares – and by implication, his own wealth.
“Incredibly difficult” goals for Musk
In its proposal, the automaker's Board of Directors noted that the goals set “will be extraordinarily difficult and challenging for Tesla and for Musk, personally.” If these financial goals were met, Tesla would end up worth almost as much as Meta, Microsoft and Alphabet (Google's parent company) combined, relative to their current market value.
Some say Musk could still make billions even if he doesn't meet all of these goals.
If Musk receives the new compensation plan, in addition to his 2018 package, he will eventually own more than 25 percent of Tesla's stock. At the close of the last trading session on the New York Stock Exchange, Tesla shares were trading near their 52-week high at about $450 a share.
Bloomberg estimates Musk's current fortune at $473 billion, making him the richest man in the world. In second place is Oracle founder Larry Ellison, with a fortune of $310 billion, followed by Jeff Bezos, with an estimated fortune of $270 billion.
How the votes are cast
Documents filed on November 4 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicated that, following the advice of the consulting group Glass Lewis, several investment funds planned to vote against the trillion-dollar package.
However, in just a few hours, the situation was reversed.
“We strongly believe that supporting this proposal aligns the interests of management and shareholders, ensuring the best outcome for all parties involved,” Schwab, one of Tesla's largest institutional investors, said in a statement, stressing that it is not relying solely on the recommendations made by Glass Lewis.
Meanwhile, Norges Bank Investment Management — Norway's sovereign wealth fund and Tesla's seventh-largest shareholder — announced this week that it would vote against the proposed compensation package.
“We are concerned about the total size of the award, the dilution of the shares and the lack of measures to reduce the risk associated with a key person, consistent with our positions on executive compensation,” Norges said in a statement.
Can Elon Musk vote on his own compensation package at Tesla?
In addition to the support of current Board members and the flood of messages about the vote from Musk himself on his X platform, others are also stepping in to support the proposal. At least three other investment firms have already announced their support.
Musk, who owns more than 500 million Tesla shares and is the company's largest individual shareholder, can technically vote in favor of his own compensation package.
“If a controlling shareholder can vote to validate his own compensation, I think that would be a pretty sad commentary on accountability,” said Lawrence Hamermesh, a professor emeritus at Widener University Delaware Law School and a former corporate law attorney.
