Elon Musk could become first trillionaire with proposed Tesla pay package
Trillionaire? FILE PHOTO: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the official opening of the new Tesla electric car manufacturing plant on March 22, 2022, near Gruenheide, Germany. Musk is set to be the first trillionaire if shareholders approve a new compensation plan. (Photo by Christian Marquardt - Pool/Getty Images) (Pool/Getty Images)
By Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Tesla has proposed giving Elon Musk 423.7 million additional shares of the company’s stock in a deal that would make him the first trillionaire.
Shareholders have to approve the proposal and the company will have to hit specific benchmarks for Musk to cash in, CNN reported.
Tesla would have to have its stock market value increase eightfold over the next 10 years or be worth $8.5 trillion, compared to the current $1.1 trillion it is worth today, The New York Times reported.
The newspaper, however, noted that Tesla sales have slumped over the past year after Musk’s foray into politics. Some investors are wary about his behavior and are concerned that it damaged the brand. He also splits his attention among Tesla, and his other companies, SpaceX, xAI and the social media platform X.
Musk would also have to stay with Tesla for at least seven and a half years to be able to cash in on the payment and 10 years to get the full amount, among other conditions.
But if all the pieces fall into place, the value of the stock, at today’s market rate, would be about $143.5 billion.
The New York Times noted that Musk is already the world’s richest person with a net worth of more than $400 billion.
Shareholders will vote on the proposal at the company’s annual meeting on Nov. 6.
Photos: Elon Musk through the years Here are some memorable photos of SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk through the years. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2008: Tesla founder Elon Musk attends the launch party for the Tesla Roadster, the world's first highway-capable all electric car available in the United States, at the Tesla Flagship Store on May 1, 2008, in Los Angeles. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2009: CEO Elon Musk (left) arrives at the Tesla UK launch on June 25, 2009, in London. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Tesla)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2010: Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger laugh during a news conference at Tesla Motors headquarters May 20, 2010, in Palo Alto, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2011: Talulah Riley and Elon Musk attend the 2011 Orange British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Opera House on February 13, 2011, in London. (Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2012: Director Bryn Mooser, executive producer Elon Musk, executive producer Olivia Wilde and director David Darg of the film "Baseball in the Time of Cholera" attend the "Help Wanted" Shorts Program during the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival at the AMC Lowes Village on April 21, 2012, in New York City. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2013: CEO and CTO of SpaceX and CEO and Chief Product Architect of Tesla Motors Elon Musk participates in a discussion at the New York Times 2013 DealBook Conference in New York at the New York Times Building on November 12, 2013, in New York City. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for The New York Times)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2014: Actress Talulah Riley (left) and CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk attend the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter on March 2, 2014, in West Hollywood, California. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2015: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during an event to launch the new Tesla Model X Crossover SUV on September 29, 2015, in Fremont, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2016: Elon Musk and actress Kate Hudson attend the 2016 InStyle and Warner Bros. 73rd annual Golden Globe Awards Post-Party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 10, 2016, in Beverly Hills, California. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images for InStyle)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2017: Maye Musk (left) and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk attend the 2017 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 26, 2017, in Beverly Hills, California. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2018: Elon Musk and Grimes attend the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & the Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018, in New York City. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2019: SpaceX Chief Engineer Elon Musk (right) speaks with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (center) while viewing the OctaWeb, part of the Merlin engine used for the Falcon rockets, at the SpaceX Headquarters, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, in Hawthorne, California. (Aubrey Gemignani/NASA via Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2020: SpaceX founder Elon Musk celebrates after the successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the manned Crew Dragon spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center on May 30, 2020, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2021: Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Armin Laschet, CDU Federal Chairman and Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, talk during a tour of the plant of the future foundry of the Tesla Gigafactory on August 13, 2021, in Grünheide near Berlin, Germany. (Patrick Pleul - Pool/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2022: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the official opening of the new Tesla electric car manufacturing plant on March 22, 2022, near Gruenheide, Germany. Musk is set to be the first trillionaire if shareholders approve a new compensation plan. (Photo by Christian Marquardt - Pool/Getty Images) (Pool/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2023: C.E.O. of Tesla, Chief Engineer of SpaceX and C.T.O. of X Elon Musk speaks during the New York Times annual DealBook summit on November 29, 2023 in New York City. Andrew Ross Sorkin returns for the NYT summit for a day of interviews with Vice President Kamala Harris, President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-Wen, C.E.O. of Tesla, Chief Engineer of SpaceX and C.T.O. of X Elon Musk, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and leaders in business, politics and culture. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2024: Elon Musk listens as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump addresses a House Republicans Conference meeting at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on November 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. As is tradition with incoming presidents, Trump is traveling to Washington, DC to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House as well as meet with Republican congressmen on Capitol Hill. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2025: Billionaire businessman Elon Musk arrives for a town hall wearing a cheesehead hat at the KI Convention Center on March 30, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The town hall is being held in front of the state’s high-profile Supreme Court election between Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel, who has been financially backed by Musk and endorsed by President Donald Trump, and Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2025: Elon Musk and his son X Æ arrive for a meeting with Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation members at the U.S. Capitol Building on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. According to a representative, Musk was attending the meeting as CEO of artificial intelligence company xAI to discuss topics unrelated to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Photos: Elon Musk through the years 2025: Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks alongside U.S. President Donald Trump to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Musk, who served as an adviser to Trump and led the Department of Government Efficiency, announced he would leave his role in the Trump administration to refocus on his businesses. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)