Posted Aug 11, 2026 at 6:39 AM UTCTExternal LinkElon Musk’s shortcut to a $1 trillion payday.An escape clause in Elon Musk’s $1 trillion Tesla pay package approved last year would eliminate daunting operational targets if SpaceX were to purchase Tesla, as many expect. Under the terms, an acquisition treats those performance goals as met. Depending on the price SpaceX makes for Tesla, which Musk can heavily influence, a merger could instantly award Musk hundreds of millions of Tesla shares and consolidate his voting control.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Thomas Ricker
Elon Musk’s shortcut to a $1 trillion payday.
An escape clause in Elon Musk’s $1 trillion Tesla pay package approved last year would eliminate daunting operational targets if SpaceX were to purchase Tesla, as many expect. Under the terms, an acquisition treats those performance goals as met. Depending on the price SpaceX makes for Tesla, which Musk can heavily influence, a merger could instantly award Musk hundreds of millions of Tesla shares and consolidate his voting control. [Link: See How a Tesla-SpaceX Merger Gives Musk a Shortcut to His $1 Trillion Payday | https://www.wsj.com/business/see-how-a-tesla-spacex-merger-gives-musk-a-shortcut-to-his-1-trillion-payday-327bc491?st=Gq7Hre&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink | WSJ]
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