Overview

• Elon Musk has drawn zero salary from Tesla for the past seven years after courts twice invalidated his 2018 equity-based compensation plan.
• Delaware judges ruled the original package’s shareholder approval process was flawed despite investor support in 2018 and again in 2024.
• Musk’s 2018 deal tied massive stock awards to escalating market-capitalization, revenue and EBITDA milestones that Tesla largely achieved.
• Pay consultants are divided on whether Tesla should adopt a standard CEO salary or a simplified performance-stock structure linked to share-price targets.
• Tesla’s board must finalize a restructured compensation framework that addresses governance concerns while incentivizing Musk’s leadership.