Tesla CEO and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk appears on track to become the world’s first trillionaire with reports suggesting that Tesla shareholders could approve a new pay proposal that will likely reward him with massive stock gains on account of his ambitious company milestones.
The Massive Stock Grant Proposal
According to a CNN report published Friday, Tesla’s proposed pay package could give Musk a whopping 423.7 million additional shares. At current stock prices, that’s worth an estimated $143.5 billion in value. Musk, however, will only receive these shares if the carmaker’s stock value skyrockets as the company would need to reach an $8.5 trillion market capitalisation for Musk to claim the full amount, the report said.
For the uninitiated, Tesla’s current market value stands at about $1.1 trillion, while Nvidia – the most valuable company on the market – has roughly half that valuation, per CNN.
Tesla’s Stake in Musk’s AI Venture
According to the report, the proxy statement unveiling Musk’s pay plan also included a proposal for Tesla to invest in xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence company. The proposed move, observers say, could deepen Musk’s business empire, which already spans electric vehicles, rockets, social media, among others.
Notably, xAI recently bought X (formerly Twitter), a social media platform that Musk had personally purchased for $44 billion in 2022. Tesla’s proposal, the report said, doesn’t specify how big a stake it would take in xAI or at what price.
Musk’s Current Holdings and Legal Battles
Reports suggest that Musk already owns 410 million Tesla shares, valued at $139 billion as of Thursday’s closing, making him the richest person on Earth with an estimated net worth of $378 billion, according to Bloomberg’s billionaire tracker.
The entrepreneur also holds options to buy another 304 million shares. However, a Delaware judge has twice struck down his 2018 pay package, stating that those options were illegal even as Tesla shareholders approved it twice. Tesla seemingly tried again this year to grant him those options, and including those, Musk now controls about 18% of Tesla’s shares, per CNN.
Tesla’s Stock Rollercoaster
Tesla’s shares surged nearly 100% between the 2024 election and mid-December, fuelled by investor optimism over the billionaire’s ties to President Donald Trump. However, following a wave of protests, falling sales, and his falling out with Trump, the stock reportedly lost much of that gain. The shares have recovered some but remain 26% below their December peak, the report further said, adding that shares edged slightly higher in premarket trading as soon as the reports of pay package emerged.
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