Tesla’s board has proposed a staggering new compensation package for Elon Musk that could make him the world’s first trillionaire. The plan would award Musk up to 35 million shares if Tesla’s market value grows from roughly 1.1 trillion dollars today to as much as 8.5 trillion dollars over the next decade. Already the world’s richest individual, Musk would collect the largest executive package in history if shareholders approve. The proposal mirrors a 2018 deal but arrives as Tesla faces declining sales, rising competition, and critics questioning both Musk’s focus and the fairness of granting such an outsized award. This is not a normal incentive plan. It is a trillion dollar gamble. The mechanics are straightforward but jaw dropping. Tesla would need to raise its value nearly eightfold for Musk to receive the full payout, creating almost 7.5 trillion dollars in new market capitalization. That level of growth would place Tesla alongside the largest corporations in history, a leap most analysts view as extremely ambitious. The package could be worth about 900 billion dollars in stock at maximum vesting. According to Tesla’s SEC filings, the median employee earned just under 60,000 dollars in 2024, underscoring the massive gap between ordinary workers and the company’s chief executive. Critics immediately questioned the package. Natalie Rentner of Americans for Financial Reform called it “outrageous,” noting the imbalance between median wages and Musk’s potential windfall. The plan includes no requirements on how Musk divides his time across Tesla and his other ventures, including SpaceX, xAI, and X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Detractors argue that Musk’s increasingly political focus, spending time immersed in right wing debates and government antics, has distracted from Tesla’s core business. Tesla’s operating picture reinforces those doubts. Sales and profits have slipped during the past year while rivals surged. Chinese carmakers such as BYD and Geely, along with established giants like General Motors and Hyundai, have introduced dozens of EV models that outclass Tesla’s aging Model 3 and Model Y. The much hyped Cybertruck, instead of rejuvenating momentum, has drawn ridicule and sold poorly. Tesla, once seen as the unrivaled EV pioneer, now looks more like a laggard. I understand paying somebody for their value. I understand building a company and setting up incentives that align executive rewards with corporate performance. But this is not that. This is a trillion dollar lottery ticket stapled to one person who spends as much time posting anime corn on X as he does focusing on his own company. Forty years ago, leadership with that level of immaturity and moral carelessness would have disqualified someone from being trusted with the nation’s technological future, not rewarded them with the largest package in corporate history. And let us be real. If United States trade politics were not insulating Tesla, BYD would already have crushed them. Their cars are five times better at a better price point. I know because I drove a Tesla as a rideshare driver for nearly two months. I asked passengers what they thought, and most said the same. Tesla cars feel lifeless and dated. People want cars with spirit, with an actual package of experience. Tesla is coasting on brand myth, not on product quality. Fact check: BYD outsold Tesla globally in 2023, three million vehicles to Tesla’s 1.8 million. The bigger problem is macroeconomic. If Tesla’s value ever did climb to the levels targeted in this plan, Musk would almost certainly borrow heavily against those shares. That creates debt money out of thin air, distorting markets while ordinary workers see stagnant wages. It is not real wealth. It is financial engineering at global scale. That dynamic also worsens the dollar’s long term position as the dominant global reserve asset. Ten years from now, the dollar will not hold the same dominance it does today. Blockchain adoption is already irreversible. While the United States dithers with political theater, the rest of the world is adopting systems that cannot be rolled back. Elon Musk is not building the future. He is borrowing it against everyone else’s balance sheet. Tesla SEC filings, 2024 (median compensation) Bloomberg, July 2025 (Tesla compensation plan details) New York Times, July 2025 (Musk pay package reporting) BYD 2023 sales data, company reports and Reuters coverage