Elon Musk May Have Boldest Pay Plan in Corporate History

Musk will only get paid if he reaches a series of "jaw-dropping" goals.

For the past few years, Elon Musk has stoked speculation about whether he would step down as chief executive of Tesla. Five years ago, he said he wanted to stay through the introduction of the Model 3. Then in 2014, he said “I will certainly be the C.E.O. for the next four or five years, and it’s T.B.D. after that,” according to The New York Times. Musk has various other endeavors, like SpaceX, that investors think might cause him to move on to a different role at Tesla. But now, four years later and with the Model 3 already debuted, Musk’s future has been determined: he told The New York Times that he had agreed to stay on as chief executive at Tesla for the next decade. His compensation plan might be the most radical in corporate history: Musk will only get paid if he reaches a series of “jaw-dropping milestones based on the company’s market value and operations,” writes The Times. Otherwise, he will make nothing. Tesla has set a dozen of market value targets, each $50 billion more than the next, starting at $100 billion and the company also set a dozen revenue and adjusted profit goals. Musk would receive 1.68 million shares, or about 1 percent of the company, only if he reaches the milestones for both.

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