Democracy Dies in Darkness

Elon Musk’s ultimatum to Tesla: Make me a trillionaire or I may leave

The proposed package could make Tesla CEO Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, but it faces resistance from shareholders and critics who say it goes too far.

7 min
Elon Musk in 2019. (Jae C. Hong/AP)

Tesla and its shareholders have mounted an unusual offensive in recent days to win backing for a $1 trillion CEO pay package, arguing the unprecedented payday is necessary to keep Elon Musk at the helm during a “critical inflection point” defined by artificial intelligence.

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