Tesla awards Elon Musk $39 billion in additional shares originally appeared on Autoblog.
The Automaker's Board Wants Elon To Stay
Tesla has awarded CEO Elon Musk 96 million additional shares, worth $29 billion. The gift aims to compensate for the loss of a $50 billion pay package from 2018 that was struck down by a court ruling last year, incentivizing Musk to stay in the CEO role until at least 2027, reports Reuters.
Musk is already Tesla's largest shareholder, with a 13% stake, but the stock award is designed to gradually boost his voting power on the company's board, according to Reuters. A special committee Tesla formed earlier this year to evaluate Musk's compensation believes that will keep him more focused on running the automaker.
"While we recognize Elon's business ventures, interests, and other potential demands on his time and attention are extensive and wide-ranging... we are confident this award will incentivize Elon to remain at Tesla," the committee said in a filing released Monday describing the new compensation package.
New Way To Pay
The new shares only vest if Musk remains in a leadership position through 2027. They also have a five-year holding period, except to cover tax payments or the purchase price of $23.34 per share, which is equal to the exercise price of the 2018 award. That award was negated by a Delaware court, which cited flaws in the board's approval process and unfairness to investors in its ruling.
Musk has launched an appeal, claiming a lower court judge made multiple legal errors in striking down what would have been a record compensation package. If the appeal is successful, the new share package will be forfeited or offset, according to Tesla.
Tesla's stock has lost about a quarter of its value this year as Musk spent a good chunk of this time as an advisor to President Donald Trump. Musk publicly withdrew from that role a few months ago, but the damage to Tesla's reputation may already be significant. Just today, Reuters published a report indicating Tesla brand loyalty "collapsed" after Musk endorsed Trump for president last summer.
Tesla Faces Uncertainty
Musk's current strategy for Tesla emphasizes robotics and autonomous vehicles over traditional car sales, but that's mainly manifested in a lack of significant updates for the automaker's aging lineup. Even the recently updated Tesla Model Y doesn't appear fresh enough to connect with new buyers in a more crowded EV field.
Tesla launched an autonomous ride-sharing service in Austin, Texas, earlier this year, but that still puts it behind specialist autonomous-driving firms like Waymo that have larger-scale operations across multiple states. The automaker also continues to face criticism for the marketing and performance of its driver-assist systems, with a federal jury ruling last week that the tech was partly to blame in a 2019 fatal crash.
Meanwhile, the automaker reported a sales decline in the second quarter that could continue as Musk's former bestie Trump guts EV incentives. In an earnings call last month, Musk said lack of incentives could lead to a "few rough quarters" until revenue from the company's planned automation pivot starts coming in, according to Reuters. Tesla also may not have the revenue from sales of emissions credits—which has helped the automaker through rough times before—to fall back on, as Trump's EPA is also eliminating fines for noncompliance with efficiency standards.
Tesla awards Elon Musk $39 billion in additional shares first appeared on Autoblog on Aug 4, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Aug 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
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