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.
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