Elon Musk’s $416 million-a-day Tesla deal could make him world’s first trillionaire if targets are met

Tesla shareholders approved Elon Musk’s pay package — potentially the largest in history — even though the divisive billionaire’s outspoken political views have hurt sales of its iconic electric cars.

Mr Musk could earn an equivalent of $US270 million ($416 million) per day in stock, every day, for the next 10 years if Tesla hits Mr Musk’s ambitious operating and share price targets.

To reach this daily payday, Mr Musk needs to get Tesla’s market valuation to $US8.5 trillion in 10 years, which would earn him a maximum payout of 423.8 million shares in 12 separate target-based tranches.

If Tesla’s valuation reaches $US8.5 trillion, each share would be worth around $US2639 per share based on 3.22 billion undiluted shares on issue today, or around $US2328 per share, after adjusting for the dilution from Mr Musk earning 423.3 million shares over the period.

That means Mr Musk’s share award in 10 years’ time could be worth $US985 billion, or close to the $US1 trillion figure quoted in media reports. Dividing that by 3650 days reaches an amount of $US270 million a day, or $US2.9 billion a week, although it should be noted these figures are estimates and multiple inputs like future share counts are subject to unknown variables.

The pay package — under the stewardship of his Australian chairwoman, Robyn Denholm — is highly controversial.

Tesla shareholders were left to choose between supporting Mr Musk or voting against a founder responsible for promoting the stock and their financial interests.

It is unclear if Tesla’s full self-driving technology is good enough to work as a taxi service, without the need for a safety driver. Elsewhere, Mr Musk has made questionable claims he can build tens of millions of Optimus robots powered by artificial intelligence for unspecified purposes, as part of Tesla’s next growth leg.

AGM updates

The entrepreneur used the AGM held at its auto-making factory in Austin, to claim Texas could produce 100 million Optimus robots per year in the future by delivering the fastest production ramp of any complex machinery in history. “Every human on earth is going to want to have their own personal robot,” he said.

Later he went on to claim the robots could solve human poverty and deliver improved healthcare globally. “People often talk about eliminating poverty and giving amazing medical care, well there’s only one way to do that, and it’s with the Optimus robot,” he told the shareholder gathering to rapturous applause. “Optimus will ultimately be better than the best human surgeon with a level of precision that is beyond humans.”

As of 2025, Optimus has little practical utility and zero have been produced for sale, although Mr Musk insisted it will deliver for investors. “I guess what I’m saying is hang on to your Tesla stock,” he told the gathering to probably the biggest round of applause.

However, some argue the electric vehicle maker’s already sky-high valuation of $US1.43 trillion is driven by the US Federal Reserve’s pandemic-era money printing of trillions of dollars.

In the September quarter, the electric vehicle maker’s profits tumbled 37 per cent to $US1.3 billion on earnings of just 50 US cents per share, versus a $US444 stock price.

Tesla shares pointed 1.6 per cent higher to $US425.90 each in after-hours markets on Wall Street after the AGM concluded. The stock has added 17.6 per cent in 2025 as retail investors buy into Mr Musk’s claims that his AI-powered robots will become the biggest product in the world.