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AS AMERICANS LIVE PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK, TESLA SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE
MUSK’S $1 TRILLION PACKAGE  
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Alexis Sterling
November 7, 2025
Nation of Change
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_ As the nation endures record inequality and a prolonged government
shutdown, Tesla shareholders have granted CEO Elon Musk a pay deal
that could make him the world’s first trillionaire, prompting fierce
backlash. _

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Elon Musk, already the world’s richest person with an estimated net
worth of nearly $500 billion, could become the first trillionaire in
history after Tesla shareholders approved a compensation package
valued at up to $1 trillion. The record-setting deal was approved
Thursday at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, where more
than 75 percent of voting shares supported the proposal. The 15
percent of Tesla that Musk already owns was not included in the vote.

The crowd at the meeting erupted in cheers and chants when the results
were announced. Musk thanked the board and investors, saying, “I
super appreciate it.”

The new package, which replaces an earlier $56 billion plan that was
struck down by a judge, is the largest corporate compensation
agreement ever granted. It gives Musk the potential to acquire 423.7
million additional Tesla shares over the next ten years if the company
meets a series of operational and financial targets. For Musk to
receive the full amount, Tesla must reach an $8.5 trillion market
capitalization, roughly 466 percent higher than its current value.

Musk does not take a salary, but if the company achieves those
targets, the award would be worth about $1 trillion, equivalent to
earning $275 million a day. It would also make Musk the first person
in history to accumulate such a fortune.

Ahead of the vote, a coalition of labor unions and progressive
advocacy groups launched the “Take Back Tesla” campaign to urge
shareholders to reject the plan. They argued that Musk’s wealth
accumulation stands in sharp contrast to the economic reality of most
Americans. The campaign also pointed to Musk’s political influence,
noting that he spent much of this year spearheading President Donald
Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a project that
triggered nationwide protests.

“Musk, who spent $270 million to get Trump elected, is now in line
to become a trillionaire,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
“Meanwhile, 60 percent of our people are living paycheck to
paycheck. Americans understand we’re living in a rigged economy.
Together, we can and must change that.”

The approval came as the nation faces widening inequality and a
prolonged government shutdown that has left millions of families
uncertain about receiving their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program benefits. On the same day as the Tesla vote, a federal judge
ordered the Trump administration to release full SNAP funding for 42
million low-income Americans, a reminder of the stark divide between
billionaire wealth and basic subsistence.

The Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate organization, connected the
events directly, stating, “Meanwhile, millions of kids are losing
SNAP benefits and healthcare because of Musk’s allies in DC. In a
country rich enough to have trillionaires, there’s no excuse for
letting kids go hungry.”

Tesla’s board defended the compensation plan, saying it was
essential to keep Musk in place and ensure his commitment to the
company. Without such assurances, they warned, Musk might leave. The
company framed the deal as a long-term incentive tied to corporate
success rather than an immediate payout.

Still, critics across the political spectrum saw the decision as a
symptom of extreme corporate greed. “No CEO is ‘worth’ $1
trillion. Full stop,” the advocacy group Patriotic Millionaires said
Wednesday. “We need legislative solutions like the Tax Excessive CEO
Pay Act, which would raise taxes on corporations that pay their
executives more than 50 times the wages of their workers.”

Rohan Williamson, a professor of finance at Georgetown University,
told the Washington Post that the scale of Musk’s compensation was
extraordinary. “No matter how you slice it, it’s a lot,”
Williamson said. He explained Musk’s argument as one centered on his
control of Tesla’s success: “I drove this to where it is and
without me it’s going to fail.”

Robert Reich, former U.S. labor secretary and professor at the
University of California, Berkeley, warned that Musk’s payout
represents a broader danger to democracy. “Remember: Wealth cannot
be separated from power,” Reich said. “We’ve seen how the
extreme concentration of wealth is distorting our politics, rigging
our markets, and granting unprecedented power to a handful of
billionaires. Be warned.”

At the shareholder meeting, Musk focused less on cars and more on his
ambitions in robotics and artificial intelligence. He told investors
that Tesla is pivoting toward autonomous technology and humanoid
robots that could eventually surpass its vehicle business. “I think
it’s going to be the biggest product of all time by far,” Musk
said. “So like bigger than cell phones, bigger than anything. I
guess a way to think about it is that every human on Earth is going to
want to have their own personal R2D2 or C3PO.”

He added that Tesla’s robots could “replace surgeons, lead to the
end of global poverty and re-shape the global economic order,”
claiming they could be produced for $20,000 each and sold for about
the price of a car.

Even with shareholder approval, Musk’s payout is not guaranteed.
Tesla must still meet its performance milestones, and much of Musk’s
vision for robots and artificial intelligence remains unproven. The
company has also faced declining sales and profits this year and
ongoing uncertainty around government policy toward electric vehicles.

For critics, however, the symbolism is clear. As millions of Americans
struggle to afford groceries, rent, and healthcare, Tesla’s decision
to reward its CEO with the largest pay package in corporate history
has become a defining statement about the priorities of the modern
economy.

 

_Alexis Sterling is a seasoned War and Human Rights Reporter with a
passion for reporting the truth in some of the world's most tumultuous
regions. With a background in journalism and a keen interest in
international affairs, Alexis's reporting is grounded in a commitment
to human rights and a deep understanding of the complexities of global
conflicts. Her work seeks to give voice to the voiceless and bring to
light the human stories behind the headlines._

 

_At NationofChange, our mission is to help people create a more
compassionate, responsible, and value-driven world, powered by
communities that focus on positive solutions to social and economic
problems._

 

* Income Inequality
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* Elon Musk
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* Telsa
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* corporate greed
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