Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: TESLA boss Elon Musk has had a record-breaking pay package that could be worth nearly $1tn approved by shareholders. The unprecedented deal was approved by 75% of votes and drew huge applause from the audience at the firm’s annual general meeting on November 6.
Musk, who is already the world’s richest man, must drastically raise the electric car firm’s market value over 10 years. If he does this and meets various targets, he will be rewarded with hundreds of millions of new shares, according to a BBC report. The scale of the potential payout has drawn criticism, but the Tesla board argued that Musk might leave the company if it was not approved – and that it could not afford to lose him.
The milestones Musk must achieve over the next decade to maximise his payout include raising Tesla’s market value to $8.5tn from $1.4tn at time of writing. He would also need to get a million self-driving Robotaxi vehicles into commercial operation.
But his early remarks on November 5 placed the spotlight on the Optimus robot, dashing the hopes of some longtime analysts and Tesla watchers who want Musk to focus on reviving the company’s electric vehicle business. US regulators are investigating Tesla’s self-driving feature after multiple incidents, in which the cars drove through red lights or on the wrong side of the road, some resulting in crashes and injuries.
Tesla shares were slightly higher in after hours trading but have risen more than 62% over the last six months.
