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Did you hear? Elon Musk got his $1 trillion pay package. Of course you did, because coverage of that highly anticipated vote is everywhere, including here at TechCrunch. But what does this actually mean?
Yes, this is about money, but it’s more about power and control. You might recall that Musk repeatedly talked about the need to control Tesla and offered up a variety of scenarios, including one involving a robot army, to argue for it.
And the stakes were high; if he didn’t get that control, he threatened to leave. Shareholders simply could not, did not want to imagine Tesla without Elon.
All of that money, power, and control increases for Musk if Tesla reaches milestones based on operations, adjusted profit, and market capitalization. Every tranche, if the goal is reached, will deliver 35.3 million shares to Musk. For instance, the first tranche milestone is a market capitalization of $2 trillion. Today, Tesla’s market cap sits at about $1.5 trillion.
Tesla is a weird animal in which its share price often has nothing to do with actual fundamentals. It’s not unusual for Tesla’s stock price to rise because of comments Musk made during an earnings call even if its quarterly figures weren’t particularly good. I’m sure this is incredibly frustrating for other automakers.
Which is why I am more interested in some of the product and adjusted profit goals tied to this package. Goals include 20 million Tesla vehicles delivered, 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions, 1 million robots delivered, and 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation within 10 years. Scroll down to the bottom to participate in a survey regarding these goals.
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Musk used the shareholder meeting for more than just a victory lap, although that vibe was certainly present. He made a number of forecasts and promises, including that production of its Cybercab will begin in April and that the company might need to build a “gigantic” semiconductor fabrication plant. He also punted on the Roadster 2 again, which was first revealed as a prototype vehicle in 2017. A production version will now be shown on April 1, 2026 — yup, April Fools’ Day.
Reminder: That Master Plan 4, which was the centerpiece of Tesla’s pitch to shareholders to approve the $1 trillion pay package, is still woefully short on details.
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