The Elon Musk theory of pay
The worse Tesla performs, the more its boss ought to earn
Delaware’s chancery court stands between Elon Musk and investors willingly offering him a fortune. In 2018, when Tesla was worth around $50bn, the carmaker’s shareholders approved a plan to link Mr Musk’s pay to the value of the company. By January 2024, when the court ruled that the pay package was illegal, the carmaker and Mr Musk’s stock options were worth more than $600bn and $50bn respectively. Tesla’s board of directors had not been transparent about how Mr Musk’s pay was set, the judge said. That summer Tesla’s shareholders voted to reincorporate the company in Texas and reapprove the compensation package. The court killed it again in winter.
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This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “The Elon Musk theory of pay”
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From the August 9th 2025 edition
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