Tesla’s board just tossed a $29 billion bag of shares at CEO Elon Musk, hoping to glue him to the company’s helm like a kid clutching a new toy.
This eye-popping payout, announced on August 4, 2025, comes after a Delaware court in 2024 yeeted Musk’s previous $50 billion-plus compensation package, calling it unfair to shareholders. The board’s latest move screams, “Please stay, Elon, we’re begging you!” as the tech world scrambles in a wild AI talent tug-of-war.
The new share award, 96 million strong, aims to juice up Musk’s voting power at Tesla, where he already holds a 13% stake. The board, posting on X (Musk’s own social media playground), gushed that nobody matches their CEO’s blend of leadership, tech know-how, and a knack for building game-changing businesses.
It’s as if they’re saying, “Elon’s the only one who can steer this electric ship into the AI galaxy!”
Why the big bucks? Tesla’s at a crossroads, shifting gears from electric cars to robotaxis and humanoid robots, and they need Musk’s brainpower to avoid crashing.
The board’s betting $29 billion that he’ll stick around, especially since he’s juggling gigs at xAI, Neuralink, and The Boring Company. They’re hoping this shiny pile of shares keeps him focused, despite his side hustles drilling tunnels and wiring brains.
This isn’t Musk’s first rodeo with mega-paydays. His 2018 package, worth up to $56 billion, was the fattest in U.S. corporate history until Delaware’s Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick axed it for being too cozy with Musk’s pals on the board. Musk, never one to back down, is appealing, arguing shareholders should decide his pay, not judges.
If the Delaware Supreme Court flips the script and reinstates the 2018 deal, Tesla promises Musk won’t double-dip—those new shares will vanish or offset the old ones.
The new package requires Musk to stay in a senior role through 2027 and hold the shares for five years, unless he’s paying taxes or the $23.34-per-share purchase price. It’s a deal structured tighter than a Cybertruck’s exoskeleton.
Meanwhile, the AI talent war is spicier than a jalapeño-eating contest. Tech giants are throwing cash at engineers faster than you can say “neural network.” Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta reportedly dangled million-dollar deals to poach OpenAI talent, while Microsoft’s AI crew, led by ex-Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman, snagged Google’s finest.
Musk himself has griped about rivals offering Tesla engineers nine-figure bonuses. He’s called it “the craziest talent war” he’s ever seen, and that’s saying something for a guy who’s seen it all. Tesla’s boosting pay for its AI team to keep them from jumping ship, but clearly, they’re most worried about losing their captain.
Tesla’s stock, down 25% this year, isn’t exactly doing cartwheels. Sales are slipping thanks to an aging vehicle lineup, fierce competition from GM and Hyundai, and Musk’s political antics turning off some EV buyers. U.S. cuts to EV subsidies aren’t helping, with Musk warning of “rough quarters” ahead before robotaxi revenue kicks in late 2026.
The Cybertruck, Tesla’s only new model since 2020, flopped harder than a bad stand-up routine, despite Musk’s rosy sales predictions. Still, the board’s banking on Musk’s vision to pivot Tesla into an AI and robotics powerhouse. They’re basically saying, “Take the shares, Elon, and make us a robotaxi empire!”
Musk’s other ventures add to the board’s jitters. He’s running xAI, which just merged with X in a deal valuing the AI outfit at $33 billion to $80 billion. Then there’s Neuralink, messing with brain chips, and The Boring Company, digging tunnels like a futuristic mole.
Recently, Musk stepped back from advising President Trump, maybe to focus on his empire of tech toys.
Tesla’s board, led by Robyn Denholm and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, insists this $29 billion is a “good faith” move to honor Musk’s past wins, like boosting Tesla’s market cap by $735 billion since 2018. Long-time Tesla bull Dan Ives called it a cloud-lifter, predicting Musk’s locked in until 2030.
Critics, though, are raising eyebrows. Some shareholders worry about share dilution, and others question if Musk’s spread too thin across his companies. The Delaware court drama looms large, with Musk’s appeal still pending, making this payout a high-stakes gamble.
Tesla’s board is playing a bold hand, hoping $29 billion keeps Musk’s eyes on the prize. As the AI war rages, they’re betting their star player won’t trade his Tesla jersey for another team’s colors. Whether this payout’s a masterstroke or a pricey punchline, only time—and shareholders—will tell.
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