Elon Musk: “The homeless industrial complex is really dark… The network of NGOs should be called, the drug zombie farmers"
Elon Musk: “The homeless industrial complex is really dark… The network of NGOs should be called, the drug zombie farmers".
Meanwhile, his $1 trillion pay package was approved this week.Tesla shareholders voted on Thursday to approve a compensation plan that could make CEO Elon Musk — already the world’s wealthiest person — potentially the first individual to reach a trillion-dollar net worth.
More than 75% of shareholder votes supported the plan during Tesla’s annual meeting, according to the company. Musk’s existing 15% ownership stake was not included in the vote count. When the results were read aloud, the audience broke into cheers. Musk thanked investors and the board, saying, “I really appreciate it.”
Musk receives no salary. Instead, the approved compensation consists of a massive stock award that could grant him up to 423.7 million additional Tesla shares over the next decade.
The shares would only vest if Tesla hits aggressive benchmarks. For Musk to receive the full payout, Tesla must reach an $8.5 trillion market valuation, and the company must meet a set of operational or financial milestones. The stock award would be released in 12 equal tranches.
If he ultimately unlocked the whole grant, it would amount to the equivalent of earning roughly $275 million per day, dwarfing any executive pay package previously seen.
Enormous growth expectations
To reach an $8.5 trillion valuation, Tesla’s stock would need to rise 466% from current levels — pushing past even Nvidia, which recently hit a record $5 trillion market cap.
Musk’s current net worth is estimated at $473 billion by Bloomberg, due largely to his holdings in Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI.
Tesla’s board had warned that rejecting the package could lead Musk to walk away from the company, saying he had raised concerns about maintaining control if the plan failed.
The vote arrives during a difficult period for Tesla. Sales and profits have fallen sharply this year, and reduced federal support for electric vehicles could cost the company billions in revenue.
Betting the company’s future on robots and AI
Musk and Tesla executives are brushing aside those near-term problems, saying the company is now shifting from selling cars to building a robotics and autonomous tech company.
During the shareholder meeting, Musk spoke far more about robotaxis and humanoid robots — neither of which are commercially available — than about vehicles. When discussing cars, he mostly focused on Tesla’s “full self-driving” software, which still requires driver supervision.
Musk told shareholders that Tesla’s future rests on robots, not vehicles.
“This will be the biggest product ever made,” he said.
“Bigger than smartphones, bigger than anything — imagine everyone having their own R2-D2.”
He claimed the robots could eventually perform surgery, eliminate global poverty, and transform the world economy. He suggested Tesla could manufacture them for around $20,000 each, selling them like cars.
But these ideas remain theoretical. None of the robots or robotaxis are in mass production or generating revenue. Even with the new pay plan approved, Musk will only receive the shares if Tesla resolves its current struggles and delivers on the ambitious future he is promising.