ByAlan Ohnsman,
Forbes Staff.
The only thing more outlandish than Elon Musk’s demand for a $1 trillion pay package is the idea that Tesla’s shareholders will grant it. And yet that appears to be the way things are going, with everyone from massive investment funds to small, individual investors likely to approve a pay package so vast the new Pope has decried it. It’s a bet that lightning will strike again for the most successful U.S. industrial entrepreneur of the 21st century — that Musk can overcome Tesla’s falling electric vehicle sales and his tarnished image by pivoting to AI-powered robotaxis and humanoid robots.
With its stock already trading at close to an all-time high, at over 300 times projected earnings, many investors appear to think that’s a foregone conclusion, even before votes are tallied at the Nov. 6 annual meeting, despite long odds of success. The shares rose 4% to $462.26 in Nasdaq trading on Wednesday.
“The only evidence that Tesla is the leader in this technology is that Elon Musk says so.”
