Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Tesla shareholders approved an unprecedented new package for CEO Elon Musk that could see him become the world's first trillionaire.
The firm said 75% of shareholders with voting rights on Thursday backed Musk's 10-year pay deal, which could net him $1 trillion over that time by boosting his stake in Tesla by more than 423 million shares.
The share bonanza is contingent on him delivering on a promise to drive up Tesla's market capitalization five-fold from is current level of around $1.5 trillion to $8.5 trillion, roughly double the size of the Japanese economy.
Shareholders at the annual general meeting at Tesla HQ in Austin, Texas, voted it through on the recommendation of Tesla's board, arguing Musk might quit if it were rejected and that the company could not afford to lose him.
Counsel from independent advisors Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services who said the "astronomical" deal should be rejected due to "unmitigated concerns surrounding the special award's magnitude and design," was largely ignored.
