Tesla’s board of directors has reaffirmed its commitment to Elon Musk by awarding him a $30 billion stock package — an effort to secure his focus amid his growing portfolio of ventures.
The “interim award” grants Musk 96 million restricted shares. His original 2018 moonshot package, previously valued at $56 billion, has been locked in legal battles for the past seven years, with a Delaware judge rescinding it not once but twice.
Since then, Tesla has relocated to Texas from Delaware, and the board has adopted a bylaw requiring any shareholder who wants to contest Musk’s compensation to hold 3% of Tesla stock — roughly $3 billion worth — effectively insulating the company from further legal challenges over his pay.
Musk already owns over 400 million shares — around 13% of Tesla — worth approximately $125 billion. But he’s aiming higher: his long-stated goal is to attain 25% voting control (equal to $250 billion in shares at Tesla’s current $1 trillion valuation). This new package brings him closer to it.
In a letter to shareholders, the board wrote: “Retaining Elon is more important than ever before... we are confident this award will incentivize him to remain at Tesla.”
This isn’t just about stock awards or executive compensation. It’s about restoring focus and whether the world’s most famous CEO can be convinced to stop juggling multiple companies and devote more attention to the one that’s public and highly volatile.
After all, Elon’s presence is a core part of Tesla’s brand value. The stock often behaves more like a cryptocurrency than a traditional automaker.
The market’s response? Bullish. Traders seem to like the idea of Musk staying. Tesla stock is up about 4% since the beginning of the week.
Tesla remains the largest EV maker in the U.S., but the shine has dimmed. The business hasn’t been smooth sailing: the EV market is more crowded than ever, sales are declining, tariff threats are looming, Cybertruck has yet to go mainstream, Model 3 is ageing, and global competition and price wars are squeezing margins.
If Musk is serious about staying and building, this could be Tesla’s chance to pivot.
Still, the question remains: Will such a generous offer be enough? Tesla says the accounting value of the package — after subtracting what Musk would need to pay to exercise the options and adjusting for restrictions — comes out to around $23.7 billion. That's about the GDP of Malta.
Let’s not forget: the man is worth between $350 billion and $400 billion (depending on volatility). If he wants to shift his focus somewhere else, a few billion dollars won’t make a difference.
