Tesla Approves New Award for Elon Musk: How It Compares to the Largest Pay Packages

The compensation of Tesla’s Elon Musk is once again making headlines, as the Company’s board of directors has approved a new interim stock award for its tenacious and outspoken chief executive. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the award—valued at roughly $24 billion—is being described as a “first step, good faith payment” to keep Musk engaged as a legal battle continues over his massive 2018 compensation plan. Musk, who recently dabbled in politics, has indicated that his willingness to lead Tesla for the next five years depends on gaining greater control of the Company, according to The Journal.

A Delaware judge struck down Musk’s 2018 pay package twice, citing that Tesla shareholders were not fully informed about the option grant and raising concerns over Musk’s conflicting influence. The second ruling occurred despite Tesla shareholders re-approving the pay package at the Company’s annual meeting in June 2024. The ruling, which is currently under appeal, is the first of its kind and has led to public debate on whether it was indeed justified.

Under the leadership of Musk, Tesla achieved several ambitious financial goals tied to the Company’s market capitalization, revenue and EBITDA, which allowed Musk to unlock all 12 tranches of the award. As for the value of the infamous 2018 pay package, it would be worth $86.9 billion based on Tesla’s closing stock price on August 4, 2025.

The new award—which has a two-year vesting period and is not tied to any performance metrics—will be forfeited or returned if the original options are restored. While the Company is referring to it as a restricted stock award, Musk is required to pay $23.34 per share upon vesting, the same amount as the exercise price of his original options. Additionally, the Company is treating the award as a performance-based grant and currently expects that the performance conditions “will not be deemed to be probable of being met,” indicating that Tesla anticipates that the 2018 awards will be returned and this new award will ultimately be forfeited.

Nonetheless, the $24 billion award is certainly eye-popping. To provide context on the value of the award, Equilar examined the largest disclosed CEO pay packages on record based on summary compensation table figures.

The Largest Historical CEO Pay Packages (Summary Compensation Table Values)

Topping the list is Musk’s 2018 pay package, originally valued at $2.3 billion at the time of grant. For comparison, the new award would be roughly 10 times larger, though that 2018 package has since grown in value to $86.9 billion. Meanwhile, just two other CEOs have received pay packages that had grant date values of 10 figures (Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone and Alexander Karp of Palantir).

The Elon Musk–Tesla compensation saga has entered a new chapter. While the appeals process may take several more months to resolve, Tesla appears eager to retain its high-profile CEO, as the Company sees him as key to navigating a period of declining revenue and profits. With a new stock award worth $24 billion, Tesla is giving Musk a powerful incentive to refocus his attention on reclaiming the Company’s position atop the electric vehicle market.

The data in the study was provided by Courtney Yu, Director of Research at Equilar, Inc.