Elon Musk could become world's first trillionaire — it all depends on Tesla shareholders
Musk has to achieve a few objectives to win the support of Tesla shareholders.
Nov. 6 2025, Published 9:46 a.m. ET
Elon Musk is the wealthiest man on Earth, and while his ambitions transcend this planet, he is focused on bolstering his position further. He could soon become the first trillionaire in history, if the Tesla shareholders approve his latest compensation package. In its annual shareholders meeting 2025, the company's shareholders will vote to approve Musk's compensation proposal, in which the "Superstar CEO" has sought hefty stock options and an even bigger goal of turning Tesla into an $8 trillion company.
According to The Guardian, Musk's 2025 package contains milestones that will increase Tesla's value from $1 trillion today to $8.5 trillion by 2035. The various milestones are distributed into "tranches," each with its own compounding goals. The first milestone for Musk is to achieve a market capitalization of $2 trillion for Tesla. The next nine milestones require $500 billion in growth till 2035, to reach a market cap of $8.5 trillion. With this, Tesla could be worth nearly as much as Meta, Microsoft, and Google's parent company, Alphabet, combined. If Musk achieves this, he will get compensation in the form of about 423.7 million additional shares of Tesla over the next 10 years, which would ultimately be worth $1 trillion, with the company's value being $8.5 trillion, as per CNN.
Apart from growing Tesla's value, Musk would also need to ensure 20 million Tesla EVs for customers, 10 million active full self-driving subscriptions, 1 million humanoid robots, and put 1 million robo-taxis in commercial service, The Guardian reported. Musk also has to be vested in the company for at least seven and a half years and grow his wealth, along with the company. The proposal noted that these milestones will be "extraordinarily difficult and challenging for Tesla, and for Musk personally." The new pay package will be one of the key items up for vote at Tesla’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas. Reports suggest that even if Musk fails to achieve all the milestones, he would still make billions from the compensation package.
Historically, Tesla shareholders have widely approved Musk's creative pay packages, but as per reports, the latest proposal comes with added risk. However, Tesla could be in a difficult position, because a proxy statement from the company suggested that Musk could walk away if the proposal gets rejected. “Musk also raised the possibility that he may pursue other interests that may afford him greater influence if he did not receive such assurances," the statement read, as per CNN.
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