Tesla shareholders overwhelmingly approved a historic $1 trillion compensation package for CEO Elon Musk during the company’s annual meeting held on November 6, 2025, at its Austin, Texas headquarters. More than 75% of shareholders voted in favor of the plan, securing one of the largest executive pay deals in corporate history and reinforcing Musk’s dominant role at Tesla.

The unprecedented pay package ties Musk’s compensation entirely to a series of ambitious performance milestones, designed to align his incentives with Tesla’s growth and innovation goals. Under the agreement, Musk will earn up to 423.7 million additional Tesla shares over the next decade if he meets specific operational, financial, and technological targets. These milestones include boosting Tesla’s market capitalization from about $1.5 trillion to $8.5 trillion, delivering 20 million vehicles, deploying 1 million robotaxis commercially, and securing 10 million full self-driving subscriptions.

Musk currently holds around 13% of Tesla’s shares, making him the largest individual shareholder. If he achieves the full scope of goals, his stake could increase to approximately 25%, further consolidating his control. According to Tesla’s chair, Robyn Denholm, who urged support for the package, Musk’s visionary leadership is critical for the company’s future success, warning shareholders that Musk might step down if the deal was rejected.

At the meeting, shareholders responded with applause and chants of “Elon! Elon!” as the vote results were announced. Musk expressed his gratitude afterward, saying, “I super appreciate it.” Musk does not receive a traditional salary; this package represents stock grants, with payouts staggered across 12 tranches. Achieving all targets could yield Musk an average of $275 million per day in stock value, dwarfing any executive pay ever recorded.

Experts emphasize that while the valuation targets are aggressive—requiring Tesla’s stock price to increase by over 460% in ten years—many of the performance goals reflect Musk’s previous predictions. The plan aims to motivate sustained innovation in electric vehicles, robotics, and autonomous driving technology.

Real-life impacts of this agreement extend to Tesla’s investors, employees, and industry stakeholders, raising both optimism about Tesla’s growth trajectory and debate around executive pay scales. Some shareholder groups had voiced concerns about the scale of the deal, but the majority sided with the board’s argument that Musk’s leadership is indispensable.