Elon Musk clears last hurdle to collect US$706mil award from Tesla

By BLOOMBERG | 6 May 2020


Musk could collect more than US$50 billion if all goals are met. — AFP


SAN FRANCISCO: A measure of Tesla Inc.’s market value on Tuesday reached the threshold needed for Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk to collect the first chunk of his moonshot pay award.

The electric-car maker’s average trailing market capitalisation over six months topped US$100 billion at the close of trading, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

As a result, Musk is eligible to unlock 1.69 million stock options, which he can exercise at US$350.02 apiece. The stock climbed 0.9% to close at US$768.21, giving the options a value of US$706 million (RM3bil).

Three other performance goals - US$100 billion average trailing market value over 30 days, US$20 billion in revenue and US$1.5 billion in earnings before certain adjustments - had already been met.

Musk’s complete compensation package - the largest corporate pay deal ever struck between a CEO and a board of directors - includes 20.3 million options, split into 12 tranches, that could yield Musk more than US$50 billion if all goals are met, according to Tesla’s estimates.

A representative for the company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Musk, 48, is already among the world’s richest people with a US$38.5 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

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