Elon Musk Could Become First Trillionaire Under New Tesla Pay System

Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO whose net worth already tops $436 billion, could become a trillionaire if his electric car company enacts changes that were proposed this week.

Tesla’s board suggested the new pay package on Friday, Sept. 5, the New York Times reported. But Musk would have to raise the company’s stock market value from about $1.1 trillion to $8.5 trillion in order to receive over 400 million more stock shares, according to CNN.

“In 2018, Elon had to grow Tesla by billions; in 2025, he has to grow Tesla by trillions — to be exact, he must create nearly $7.5 trillion in value for shareholders for him to receive the full award,” Tesla executives wrote in a letter to shareholders.

As noted in the letter, the pay plans come days after Tesla announced Master Plan, Part IV, which factors in technological gains from artificial intelligence, a company statement said.

“Simply put, retaining and incentivizing Elon is fundamental to Tesla achieving these goals and becoming the most valuable company in history,” leaders from Tesla’s board continued.

Musk, 54, whose tumultuous relationship with President Donald Trump has played out publicly in recent months, would have 10 years to achieve the proposed increase in Tesla’s value, the Times reported.

A vote on the suggested changes will likely take place at a shareholder meeting in Texas on Nov. 6, according to an agenda listed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Board members cited the rapid development of AI technologies, as well as competition for talent, as drivers for the new payment plan in an effort to keep Musk at the helm.

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“The Special Committee determined that the failure to retain and incentivize Mr. Musk could put Tesla at risk of losing not only its CEO and leader in the AI field, but also the AI talent that would likely be inclined to leave in the absence of his leadership, as Mr. Musk’s leadership is a significant factor in attracting highly skilled talent to Tesla,” a proxy statement said.

“During its negotiations with Mr. Musk, the Special Committee observed that Mr. Musk raised the possibility of prioritizing other ventures if alignment could not be reached on a path forward with Tesla,” the statement added.