Elon Musk Won't Be Getting Paid Unless Tesla Succeeds With New 10-Year Pay Package

Following on from the revelation that a Tesla semi truck has already been spotted out on public roads, news about Elon Musk‘s own financial relationship with the company has now also been revealed.

Confirmed in a statement from the company, Musk will continue to helm Tesla for another decade, with his compensation directly linked with the car manufacturer’s successes. “Elon [Musk] will receive no guaranteed compensation of any kind–no salary, no cash bonuses, and no equity that vests simply by the passage of time,” said the company in a statement.

The New York Times further detailed Musk’s new pay package:

Mr. Musk will be paid only if he reaches a series of jaw-dropping milestones based on the company’s market value and operations. Otherwise, he will be paid nothing.

Tesla has set a dozen targets, each $50 billion [USD] more than the next, starting at $100 billion [USD], then $150 billion [USD], then $200 billion [USD] and so on, all the way to a market value of $650 billion [USD]. In addition, the company has set a dozen revenue and adjusted profit goals. Mr. Musk would receive 1.68 million shares, or about 1 percent of the company, only after he reaches milestones for both.

But to put these numbers in perspective, Tesla is worth only about $59 billion [USD] today.

Musk’s financial future, then — at least where Tesla is concerned — is fully tied to the company’s performance, with his 10-year grant of stock options only vesting if predetermined milestones are received. How this will pan out for Musk is anyone’s guess at this point, but his newly-announced LA drive-in restaurant could certainly help.