Tesla’s board of directors has unveiled a staggering $1 trillion compensation package for CEO Elon Musk, contingent on achieving a series of technological and financial milestones over the next decade. While framed as a roadmap to make Tesla "the most valuable company in history," the targets starkly dilute Musk’s own previously proclaimed ambitions for the automaker and its AI-driven projects.

The Diluted Milestones

1. 20 Million Vehicles… Total
Musk once vowed Tesla would produce 20 million electric vehicles annually by 2030, predicated on 50% yearly growth. As sales growth stalled (and even reversed in 2024), Tesla abandoned this target. The new compensation plan reduces the benchmark to 20 million cumulative deliveries by 2035. Given Tesla has already sold 8 million vehicles and produces ~2 million annually, this revised goal signals a dramatic recalibration of expectations.

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2. 1 Million Robotaxi ‘Commercial Operations’
In 2019, Musk promised 1 million fully autonomous robotaxis on roads by 2020. Today, Tesla operates a small pilot in Austin with safety drivers. The new target requires just 1 million Tesla vehicles (including customer-owned cars) to be commercially operated as robotaxis on average daily over three months by 2035. This relies on unproven assumptions: that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software achieves autonomy and that customers will enroll private vehicles in a robotaxi network—a feature still in development.

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3. 1 Million ‘Bots’ (But Not Vehicles)
Musk claimed Tesla would produce 1 million Optimus humanoid robots annually by 2029, predicting they’d drive 80% of future revenue. The compensation plan lowers this to 1 million cumulative ‘bots’ (defined as AI-powered mobile robots excluding vehicles) by 2035. While the board calls Optimus a potential "bestselling product," commercialization plans remain vague.

4. 10 Million FSD Subscriptions
This goal—10 million active FSD subscriptions—is arguably the most ambitious. Tesla reports adoption in the "teens," suggesting only low millions of current users. Scaling this requires massive vehicle sales growth and significantly higher software uptake.

The Financial Engine

Beyond product goals, Musk must deliver unprecedented financial results:
- $8.5 Trillion Valuation: Tesla’s current valuation is ~$700B. Musk previously targeted valuations exceeding $15T.
- $400 Billion Annual Earnings: A 23x increase from 2023’s $17B.

Governance Strings Attached

The package includes critical stipulations:
1. Musk must collaborate on a CEO succession plan, binding him to Tesla for at least 7.5 years.
2. Reduced political involvement: Footnotes reveal Tesla secured "assurances" Musk would wind down political activities.

Why This Matters for Tech

This package isn’t just corporate drama—it’s a referendum on Tesla’s technological viability. The scaled-back targets acknowledge:
- Autonomy’s Elusive Timeline: Robotaxi and FSD goals now extend 5-10 years beyond Musk’s original promises, reflecting the immense technical and regulatory hurdles.
- Growth Plateau Realities: Slowing EV demand forced Tesla to abandon aggressive production targets.
- Investor Skepticism: After Delaware’s court voided Musk’s 2018 package, the board faces pressure to justify rewards with achievable benchmarks.

While Musk defied skeptics by hitting his 2018 targets, this new proposal reveals a board attempting to ground Tesla’s future in attainable tech milestones—even as it dangles the largest CEO pay package in history. Shareholders vote in November, with the outcome poised to shape Tesla’s trajectory as an AI and robotics company far more than an automaker.

Source: TechCrunch