Africa's trailblazing entrepreneur lands groundbreaking $1 trillion deal with Tesla
- Nhlanhla Muthe
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
By Nhlanhla Muthe
South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, already the richest man in the world worth over $480 billion, has secured shareholder approval for a record-breaking $1 trillion pay package at Tesla.
The jaw-dropping that firmly puts him on track to be the world’s first US dollar trillionaire, cements his influence over the world’s most valuable electric vehicle company.
Musk, who also owns SpaceX and Starlink, the satellite internet service already rolled out in more than 40 countries across Africa, received over 75% shareholder support for the compensation plan at Tesla’s annual meeting held in Austin, Texas.
“This is not about money. It’s about ensuring that Tesla continues to be the world’s leader in innovation from sustainable energy and AI to robotics and autonomy. The scale of what’s ahead demands extraordinary commitment,” Musk told shareholders.
The $1 trillion deal, first proposed in September, is structured around ambitious performance goals, including Tesla’s market capitalisation reaching $8.5 trillion from its current $1.5 trillion. The package grants Musk up to 12 tranches of stock options tied to financial, operational, and innovation milestones such as delivering 20 million vehicles annually, 1 million robotaxis, and deploying 1 million humanoid robots known as Optimus.
At the meeting, Musk made a string of bold predictions, telling shareholders Optimus will ultimately eliminate poverty.” It will be bigger than cellphones, bigger than anything we’ve ever seen,” he claimed. Musk, who has been Tesla CEO since 2008, also claimed the robots could help contain future crime by tracking offenders rather than imprisoning them.
The vote follows a year-long legal battle over Musk’s previous 2018 compensation plan, which was rescinded by a Delaware court. This fresh approval gives him increased voting power, up to 25% ownership of Tesla, further consolidating his grip on the company’s future.
Tesla’s board defended the plan as essential to retain Musk’s leadership amid growing competition and his expanding focus on AI ventures like xAI. “Keeping Elon motivated and aligned with Tesla’s growth trajectory is critical,” said Tesla’s General Counsel, Brandon Ehrhart.
As Africa continues to embrace electric mobility and Starlink expands broadband connectivity across the continent, Musk’s influence remains both global and deeply connected to his African roots, a reminder of how innovation born in Pretoria now shapes the future of technology worldwide.