Musk’s pay under a SpaceX-Tesla merger: voting control, but no $1 trillion payday

In a potential SpaceX-Tesla merger, Elon Musk might gain full voting control over Tesla, without needing to achieve any of the ambitious goals set in his $1 trillion compensation package. Musk's pay packages at both companies were based on achieving milestones like creating a human colony on Mars, putting a million robotaxis on the road, and selling a million humanoid robots. A merger could provide the voting control Musk desires, without requiring him to hit any of those targets.

The $1 trillion Tesla compensation plan required Musk to meet market-capitalization and operational milestones to collect additional stock and voting control. However, he has not yet achieved any of those targets. Even if he were to meet all goals, he would only have around 29% of the voting power at Tesla, according to experts who reviewed the plans for Reuters.

A Musk-led merged entity would have 56% of the voting power, due to Musk's SpaceX shares carrying 10 times the voting rights of typical shareholders. This would allow him to maintain control over the combined company. There are no such voting rights classes at Tesla, making a merger the fastest path to obtaining full voting control.