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New York
—
Tesla’s board is giving CEO Elon Musk another huge pay day.
The company’s latest CEO pay package, worth about $29 billion, comes several months after a Delaware court rejected for a second time Musk’s 2018 performance award following a shareholder lawsuit. Musk is currently appealing the order.
In an letter to shareholders Monday, Tesla said that Musk has “not received meaningful compensation for eight years” and that its “legal efforts continue” to reinstate the 2018 pay package, adding that there’s “no clear timeline for resolution.”
The package would give Musk 96 million shares of Tesla, each of which trades at just over $300. Musk would have to pay $23.34 for each of those shares, equal to the amount he was expected to pay when he was first awarded his 2018 compensation package.
“Despite these legal challenges, we can all agree that Elon has delivered the transformative and unprecedented growth that was required to earn all milestones of the 2018 CEO Performance Award,” wrote board members Robyn Denholm and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson. “This growth has translated into immense value generated for Tesla and all our shareholders.”
Musk is not paid a cash salary or bonus for working at Tesla. Rather, Musk, one of the world’s richest people, makes his money through lucrative packages of stock options that allow him to purchase millions of Tesla shares for a fraction of their market price. Musk is Tesla’s largest individual shareholder — he owns about 13% of the company.
The CEO caught the ire of many shareholders last year and earlier in 2025, however, when he shifted his focus to politics, spending huge sums of money and time trying to get Republican candidates elected for office. Musk was largely successful in his efforts, but his entry into politics backfired on Tesla.
Political opponents have protested at Tesla dealerships throughout the year, and the company’s sales have been falling sharply. President Donald Trump’s domestic policy agenda also strips Tesla and other EV makers of tax incentive for vehicle sales and regulatory credits from other automakers – a major driver of Tesla’s revenue.
Shares of Tesla (TSLA) have fallen 25% this year. The stock rose nearly 3% in premarket trading.
However, Musk has recently said he would return to his companies full time – a demand many shareholders had made of the CEO, given his considerable track record for success in the past. Monday’s pay package keeps Musk at the helm of the struggling company.
Musk has recently tried to remake Tesla, focusing the company on AI and robotics, shifting away from its reliance on car sales.
“Through Elon’s unique vision and leadership, Tesla is transitioning from its role as a leader in the electric vehicle and renewable energy industries to grow towards becoming a leader in AI, robotics and related services,” the pair wrote.
Tesla is currently in the midst of rolling out its much-publicized robotaxi service, albeit in a much slimmed down fashion than Musk promised a few years ago.
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