(NewsNation) — Tesla shareholders Thursday awarded a massive pay package to CEO Elon Musk that could make the divisive tech titan and former White House adviser the world’s first trillionaire.
More than 75% of shareholders who gathered at the EV maker’s Austin, Texas, headquarters approved a compensation package granting Musk — already the world’s richest man, with an estimated fortune of $500 billion — stock worth $1 trillion for hitting performance benchmarks over the next decade.
The pay deal includes 12 potential “tranches” of additional shares for Musk and increased voting power, with his ownership in the company increasing from about 13% to 25%, CNBC reported. The first tranche of stock is his if Tesla’s market capitalization grows to $2 trillion from $1.54 trillion currently.
“Fantastic group of shareholders,” Musk said after the decision. He added: “Hang on to your Tesla stock.”
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The compensation package was seen as positive for Tesla’s stock. Its valuation hangs on Musk’s goal of self-driving fleets of cars and other high-tech advancements. Shares closed at $445.91 Thursday.
Musk’s escalating wealth comes as residents in New York City, the financial capital of the world, have elected Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist who has railed against the billionaire class. Mamdani’s meteoric political rise has been credited to his proposals to make the Big Apple more affordable for struggling middle-class residents.
The Musk pay package was not welcomed by some shareholder groups, including the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, one of Tesla’s biggest investors.
“While we appreciate the significant value created under Mr. Musk’s visionary role, we are concerned about the total size of the award, dilution, and lack of mitigation of key person risk consistent with our views on executive compensation,” Norges Bank Investment Management said this week.
Unprecedented payday aside, the South African-born Musk has been a lightning rod for controversy in recent years by engaging in “culture wars” debates and, earlier this year, temporarily serving as a key adviser to Republican President Donald Trump as the White House sought to dramatically reduce the size of government and foreign aid. Musk and Trump later had an explosive public falling out.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
