Musk's 'trillion-dollar' Tesla pay package explained: the 12 milestones, and how far along they are

In November 2025, Tesla shareholders approved a pay plan for Elon Musk that headlines called worth up to $1 trillion. A year later, with the next shareholder meeting set for December 3, 2026, it is worth looking at what the plan actually requires.

The basics

• Approval: about 75% of votes in favour at the meeting on November 6, 2025, according to preliminary results.
• No salary: Musk is paid only in Tesla shares.
• Twelve tranches: each requires both a market value milestone and an operational milestone, within about ten years.
• Holding period: shares that are earned must generally be held for five years.

The milestones

Tesla's market value must climb from about $1.5 trillion to more than $8.5 trillion for the final tranches. The operational goals include:

• 20 million vehicles delivered in total
• 10 million active FSD subscriptions
• 1 million Optimus robots delivered
• 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation
• adjusted EBITDA rising to as much as $400 billion

Why the value estimates differ

The "trillion" figure is the value of all shares if every target is reached at the target share price. Tesla's board valued the award at about $88 billion at approval, and in a May 2026 filing Tesla put Musk's 2025 compensation at about $158 billion, an accounting estimate of the award's value. Musk receives more than 35 million shares per tranche. If he earns everything, his voting stake would rise to about 28.8%, which the board chair said mattered more to Musk than the money.

Progress so far

According to Tesla's 2026 proxy statement, none of the tranches has been earned or vested yet. A separate interim award from 2025 was forfeited in 2026. For the older 2018 award, which had been tied up in a Delaware court case, Tesla signed an agreement in April 2026 under which Musk can exercise vested options, with the shares subject to a service condition.

The debate

Supporters argue the targets are so ambitious that shareholders win big if Musk reaches them. Critics, such as New York's state comptroller, called it pay for unchecked power and point out that Musk could earn very large sums by hitting only some targets.

This article is for information only and is not financial advice.