Is Elon Musk worth a $56 billion pay package?

Tesla's major shareholders overwhelmingly supported Elon Musk's controversial $56 billion pay package, a deal conditional on the performance of Tesla shares and the rest of the company's sectors, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

According to the BBC, this amount represents about 75% of the total spending on schools in England in 2024-2025 (60 billion pounds sterling) and about a quarter of the budget of the National Health Service (192 billion pounds sterling).

Journalist Zoe Kleinman believes that for many of Musk's fans, the man deserves every "cent" that comes his way, and shareholders have already agreed to this, as about 72% of those voting in favor of the deal supported him.

Musk's work includes Tesla, X-Platform, SpaceX, Neuralink, Starlink, and finally his artificial intelligence project, XAI.

Tesla's growth and Musk's influence

Kleinman says the $56 billion question is: Would Tesla's success have been possible without him? Tesla's pay deal is designed to retain Musk amid speculation about his future at the company, he says.

He adds that the deal's structure ensures that Musk will only get paid if he achieves specific successes, such as Tesla's market value, sales, and underlying profits.

Musk had previously achieved the goals set for him, raising Tesla's market value from $54 billion to $650 billion within a record period, although it has since declined to $570 billion.

Shareholders and legal opinions

Although shareholders supported Musk's pay package, legal experts point out that it is unclear whether the court that blocked the deal will accept a re-vote.

Steve Westley, a former Tesla investor, noted that although Musk has a unique vision, it may not be necessary to manage all of his companies at once.

Achievements and failures

Despite his successes, Musk has faced several failures. Tesla has struggled to achieve profit for years, and a tweet about the company taking it private led to financial chaos and regulatory investigations.

Two former employees claimed that voicing safety concerns at Tesla cost them their jobs. SpaceX also experienced rocket launch failures, and its Neuralink chip malfunctioned shortly after it was implanted, though it has since been fixed.

Musk recently claimed that Starlink had broken even financially, but Bloomberg reported that he may have underestimated the infrastructure costs of its satellite network.

Despite the setbacks, Musk remains defiant, as described by the BBC. He recently sent a cake to the state of Delaware, which tried to block Tesla's $56 billion payment deal, decorated with his favorite phrase, "The voice of the people, is the voice of God."