'Elon, Elon': Tesla boss gets a huge bonus from shareholders

The decision was made yesterday during Tesla's annual shareholders meeting. Seventy-five percent of Tesla shareholders voted in favor of the mega-compensation for Elon Musk, currently the richest man in the world.

When the news was announced in Austin, the audience chanted "Elon, Elon, Elon!" The CEO then took the stage and declared "not just a new chapter, but a whole new book for Tesla."

"Other shareholder meetings are boring, but ours are amazing. Look at this. This is crazy," Musk said.

Musk won't receive the money, equivalent to €869 billion, immediately. He has to meet several ambitious targets before receiving the gig bonus.

Tesla's market capitalization must rise to $8.5 trillion to receive the full amount. Its current market capitalization is around $1.4 trillion. Tesla also must meet sales targets for robotaxis and AI robots. Musk has been given ten years to achieve this.

"The bottom line is that Elon will only be rewarded when he delivers exceptional performance that benefits all Tesla shareholders," Tesla Chairman Robyn Denholm wrote in a previous letter to shareholders.

To illustrate how enormous the reward would be, the Netherlands' gross domestic product (GDP) rose above €1 trillion ($1.15 billion) for the first time in 2023 .

There has also been criticism recently about the plans to offer Musk so much money. For example, the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said it would not agree to Musk's compensation . The sovereign wealth fund is a Tesla shareholder.

“While we appreciate the significant value created by Mr. Musk’s visionary role, we have concerns about the overall size of the compensation, the dilution and the lack of risk controls for key executives (...),” the sovereign wealth fund wrote.

Criticism of the enormous compensation didn't come only from the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund. According to the Reuters news agency, critics believe Musk, as the largest shareholder, is sufficiently motivated to stay with the company.

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