Path to world’s first trillionaire: Tesla clears $1,000,000,000,000 pay package for Elon Musk; T&C apply

Tesla shareholders on Thursday approved Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package, giving the CEO a pathway to earn as much as $1 trillion if he delivers on a set of long-term performance targets.

More than 75% of shareholders backed the plan at Thursday’s meeting, and the announcement was met with cheers."What we're about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter of the future of Tesla, but a whole new book," Musk told the audience when he took the stage.The package is designed to keep Musk at Tesla long enough to pursue the technological goals he has set for the company. Musk has said Tesla’s progress in areas such as artificial intelligence, self-driving technology and robotics will put it ahead of competitors.

If Musk meets all the targets in the plan, he could become the world’s first trillionaire.

Musk currently has a net worth of more than $500 billion and is listed as the world’s richest person on Forbes’ real-time billionaire rankings. Under the approved plan, he must meet various milestones linked to Tesla’s market value to receive the full package. The first part becomes available when Tesla reaches a $2 trillion market value.

The package also includes goals tied to operating profit and product launches, such as delivering 20 million Tesla vehicles.

The plan is structured to keep Musk at Tesla for at least seven and a half years.Musk has said Tesla’s growth potential is significant, stating in July that "Tesla will be the most valuable company in the world by far" if the company meets its goals for autonomous driving and artificial intelligence.

How Musk could receive the $1 trillion

Musk will only receive the payout if he achieves the required operational and financial goals.The targets include delivering 20 million vehicles within 10 years. This is more than twice the number Tesla has produced in the past 12 years. He must also increase the company’s market value and operating profits, and oversee the delivery of one million robots. Tesla has not delivered any robots yet.Even if Musk does not reach every goal, he could still receive a large payout. He will get $50 billion in Tesla shares if he raises the company’s market value by 80%, doubles vehicle sales and triples operating profit — or meets any two of the other operational targets.