Crystal Dike
Tesla shareholders have on November 6, 2025, approved a record-breaking pay package for Elon Musk that could be worth nearly $1 trillion (£760 billion), marking the largest executive compensation deal in corporate history and further cementing his position as the world’s richest man.
The unprecedented proposal for Elon Musk was backed by about 75% of votes at Tesla’s annual general meeting, drawing loud applause from attendees. The company’s board argued the package was essential to retain Musk, warning that he might leave Tesla if it was rejected.
Under the terms of the deal, Elon Musk must raise Tesla’s market value to $8.5 trillion—up from about $1.4 trillion currently—over the next decade and achieve several ambitious performance milestones. If successful, he will receive hundreds of millions of new Tesla shares, boosting both his ownership stake and influence over the company’s direction.
Taking the stage after the vote in Austin, Elon Musk celebrated with a dance as the crowd chanted his name.
> “What we’re about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter of Tesla, but a whole new book,” Musk told shareholders.
“Other shareholder meetings are snoozefests, but ours are bangers. Look at this. This is sick.”
The milestones tied to Elon Musk’s payout include deploying one million self-driving Robotaxi vehicles. However, analysts expressed concern that Musk is devoting more attention to the Optimus humanoid robot project rather than reviving Tesla’s slowing electric vehicle business.
“Let it sink in where Musk’s head is at,” wrote analyst Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management on X, noting that Musk’s opening remarks centered on Optimus, not cars or autonomous driving.
Elon Musk later said Tesla was “almost comfortable” allowing drivers to “text and drive essentially,” referring to progress on its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. U.S. regulators are still investigating the feature after several crashes linked to the technology.
Tesla shares edged higher in after-hours trading and are up more than 62% over the past six months, despite a drop in sales since Elon Musk aligned himself with U.S. President Donald Trump—a relationship that reportedly soured earlier this year.
Tesla investor Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, described Elon Musk’s pay deal as “another notch in the unbelievable things you see in business.” He warned, however, that Tesla faces serious challenges, including declining profits and growing competition in both the electric vehicle and robotaxi markets.
“Elon seems to be divorced from the reality that his opinion among the public is so low,” Gerber said, adding that his firm had reduced its Tesla holdings due to Elon Musk’s increasingly polarising image.
Analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities called Elon Musk “Tesla’s biggest asset,” saying the vote marks the start of an “AI-driven valuation” for the company over the next nine months.
Legal expert Ann Lipton, from the University of Colorado, noted that Elon Musk’s new deal does not restrict his outside political or business activities, though he has a record of exceeding performance goals early—as he did with a similar 2018 compensation package.
The previous plan, worth tens of billions, was struck down by a Delaware judge earlier this year due to close ties between Elon Musk and Tesla’s board. Since then, Tesla has reincorporated from Delaware to Texas, while the Delaware Supreme Court reviews that decision.
The new plan faced opposition from major institutional investors, including Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension fund. As a result, Elon Musk relied heavily on Tesla’s large base of retail investors to secure the approval.
Ahead of the vote, Tesla’s directors led a public campaign featuring videos on VoteTesla.com, where board chair Robyn Denholm and director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson praised Elon Musk’s leadership and vision for the company.
Investment manager Kathryn Hannon of RBC Brewin Dolphin said the new structure gives Elon Musk greater voting power and aligns his long-term interests with shareholders.
> “Elon Musk, whether you like him or not, is a visionary,” she said. “The hope is that this structure keeps him focused on delivering that vision and guiding Tesla through its next decade of success.”