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QUOTES-Wall St reacts to Musk's $1 trillion pay plan approval by Tesla investors
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QUOTES-Wall St reacts to Musk's $1 trillion pay plan approval by Tesla investors
Nov 7, 2025 5:57 AM

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Tesla CEO Elon Musk has won

shareholder approval for the largest corporate pay package in

history.

At the EV maker's annual meeting at its factory in Austin,

Texas, Musk bounded to the stage accompanied by dancing robots.

The proposal was approved with more than 75% support, allowing

Musk to get as much as $1 trillion in stock over the next

decade.

Here are some comments from analysts and experts:

MATT BRITZMAN, SENIOR EQUITY ANALYST, HARGREAVES LANSDOWN

"A $1 trillion CEO pay package is outrageous - but so are the

Everest-sized milestones Tesla must conquer to unlock it. For

shareholders, it's the ultimate alignment: Musk earns nothing

unless he creates staggering value, and if he pulls off the

unimaginable, investors will be sitting atop an $8.5 trillion

titan."

"2026 looms as a watershed moment ... Critics cry 'key man

risk', and they're not wrong, but investors have spoken. The

Musk premium is alive and well."

MIKE O'ROURKE, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, JONES TRADING

"There is no doubt Musk has the ability to execute the

impossible in the business world ... With Tesla's EV business on

the decline, we are surprised Musk has not abandoned ship and

simply used his genius in his private companies. For that reason

alone, it was worth it for shareholders to grant the package."

"Nonetheless, it is highly unlikely this works out well when

a $1.5 trillion company needs to award a $1 trillion pay package

to the richest man in the world."

CHRIS BEAUCHAMP, CHIEF MARKET ANALYST, IG MARKETS

"If it's performance-based stock options, then it's not

necessarily the requirement to provide it (the pay) all upfront.

And if he grows the company to $8.5 trillion, then the questions

will answer themselves in due course. So I don't think it's a

particular concern about how they will pay for this."

"(The board) has taken some steps. But the question is

really where Musk sees his focus lie. The lofty goals he's been

given requires a lot of attention and whether he continues to

keep so many plates spinning is another matter entirely."

RUSS MOULD, INVESTMENT DIRECTOR AT AJ BELL

"There are logical reasons for shareholders to have given their

assent. To reach the astronomical headline figure Musk must hit

some extremely demanding targets... In this sense there was

little to lose for most Tesla holders in approving the deal. If

Musk does get the $1 trillion, shareholders will have done very

nicely indeed."

BRIAN DUNN, DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTE FOR COMPENSATION STUDIES IN

CORNELL UNIVERSITY'S SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS

"Is Elon Musk an extraordinary individual? Yes, he is. Does the

stock price reflect a reasonable multiple of earnings? No. The

value of Tesla's stock is clearly tied to a belief that

something extraordinary will happen in the future... Is it worth

$1 trillion of shareholders' money to hope that that will

actually occur? I think not."

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