Elon Musk’s new pay package could see him earn more than $50bn (£35bn) if he meets certain milestones over the coming decade.
Shareholders approved the pay rate for Tesla’s chief executive by a large margin, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The package is worth $2.6bn (£1.8bn) at current stock values but for each of 12 milestones Tesla achieves, Mr Musk will get stock worth one percent of the company.
The 46-year-old currently owns more than 20% of it.
Among the goals are raising the company’s market capitalisation tenfold to $650bn (£460bn) as well as increasing income and revenue.
Reaching these milestones would make Tesla the fourth most valuable US company – and Musk would be one of the richest people in the world.
But his mission won’t be easy – despite 15 years of business, Tesla has yet to report a full-year net profit.
Tesla board member Antonio Gracias said: “We believe as a board and executive team that we can actually achieve these milestones.
“It’s very important to think about the specifics of Tesla and what we have already achieved.”
In a statement, the company said: “This ensures that Elon will continue to lead Tesla’s management over the long-term, while also providing the flexibility to bring in another CEO who would report to Elon at some point in the future.”
Mr Musk is already reportedly worth around $21bn, making him one of the 100 wealthiest people on the planet.
Shares in Tesla Motors were up 1.9% after the pay package was approved.
