This is not the $3 billion man, as in the 1970s television series. This is the man potentially worth $1 trillion (€853 billion). Tesla's board has proposed a compensation package for Elon Musk that could reach a trillion dollars – that is, 13 figures – within 10 years.
In a letter to shareholders, Robyn Denholm, chair of the board, and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, board member, wrote that "Retaining and incentivizing Elon [Musk] is fundamental to Tesla for achieving these goals and becoming the most valuable company in history." This compensation model is similar to the one adopted twice before since the early 2010s, one of which was overturned by a Delaware judge after being deemed excessive in a lawsuit filed by a shareholder.
To justify such an amount, the board members have repeatedly explained that the bar for Musk to obtain these astronomical sums is set high. "He must create nearly $7.5 trillion in value for shareholders for him to receive the full award," they specified. They also cited other targets to reach, such as deploying one million operational robotaxis, tripling the total number of Tesla vehicles sold (to 20 million), and establishing a succession plan for the company.
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