In a remarkable development that has shaken the corporate world, Tesla CEO Elon Musk received a huge salary package of 1 trillion dollars, which translates into approximately Rs 8,36,00,00,00,000, on Thursday, November 6. The development follows approval from Tesla's shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Austin.
According to an AFP report, this is the largest payment ever offered to any corporate leader in history, announced at the company’s Austin headquarters. The landmark deal received approval from 75% of voters and was met with loud applause from attendees at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday.
In what comes as the most startling fact, the salary package that Musk has been offered is greater than the GDP of several countries:
| GDP forecast or estimate (million USD) by country | ||
| SR No | Country/Territory | IMF (2025) |
| 1 | Taiwan | 884,387 |
| 2 | Belgium | 716,980 |
| 3 | Ireland | 708,771 |
| 4 | Argentina | 683,371 |
| 5 | Sweden | 662,318 |
| 6 | Israel | 610,752 |
| 7 | Singapore | 574,185 |
| 8 | United Arab Emirates | 569,097 |
| 9 | Austria | 566,456 |
| 10 | Thailand | 558,573 |
| 11 | Norway | 517,102 |
| 12 | Philippines | 494,158 |
| 13 | Vietnam | 484,726 |
| 14 | Bangladesh | 475,011 |
| 15 | Malaysia | 470,572 |
| 16 | Denmark | 459,612 |
| 17 | Colombia | 438,121 |
| 18 | Hong Kong | 428,233 |
| 19 | South Africa | 426,383 |
| 20 | Romania | 422,508 |
| 21 | Pakistan | 410,495 |
| 22 | Czech Republic | 383,384 |
| 23 | Iran | 356,513 |
| 24 | Egypt | 349,264 |
| 25 | Chile | 347,174 |
| 26 | Portugal | 337,936 |
| 27 | Peru | 318,480 |
| 28 | Finland | 314,724 |
| 29 | Kazakhstan | 300,052 |
| 30 | Algeria | 288,013 |
| 31 | Nigeria | 285,003 |
| 32 | Greece | 282,019 |
| 33 | Iraq | 265,455 |
| 34 | New Zealand | 262,909 |
| 35 | Hungary | 247,759 |
| 36 | Qatar | 222,119 |
| 37 | Ukraine | 209,713 |
| 38 | Cuba | — |
| 39 | Morocco | 179,612 |
| 40 | Kuwait | 157,469 |
| 41 | Slovakia | 154,587 |
| 42 | Uzbekistan | 137,480 |
| 43 | Kenya | 136,014 |
| 44 | Ecuador | 130,529 |
| 45 | Dominican Republic | 129,748 |
| 46 | Bulgaria | 127,924 |
| 47 | Puerto Rico | 126,546 |
| 48 | Guatemala | 120,850 |
| 49 | Angola | 115,167 |
| 50 | Ghana | 111,963 |
| 51 | Ethiopia | 109,492 |
| 52 | Oman | 105,190 |
| 53 | Croatia | 103,901 |
| 54 | Costa Rica | 102,637 |
| 55 | Luxembourg | 100,642 |
| 56 | Serbia | 100,048 |
| 57 | Ivory Coast | 99,207 |
| 58 | Sri Lanka | 98,964 (2024) |
| 59 | Lithuania | 95,274 |
| 60 | Panama | 90,408 |
| 61 | Tanzania | 87,444 |
| 62 | Belarus | 85,739 |
| 63 | Uruguay | 84,986 |
| 64 | Venezuela | 82,767 |
| 65 | DR Congo | 82,262 |
| 66 | Slovenia | 79,221 |
| 67 | Azerbaijan | 76,390 |
| 68 | Turkmenistan | 72,119 |
| 69 | Uganda | 64,993 |
| 70 | Cameroon | 60,577 |
| 71 | Myanmar | 60,561 |
| 72 | Tunisia | 59,069 |
| 73 | Bolivia | 57,086 |
| 74 | Jordan | 56,157 |
| 75 | Zimbabwe | 53,310 |
| 76 | Macau | 52,379 |
| 77 | Cambodia | 48,802 |
| 78 | Libya | 47,941 |
| 79 | Latvia | 47,880 |
| 80 | Paraguay | 47,398 |
| 81 | Bahrain | 47,391 |
| 82 | Estonia | 46,763 |
| 83 | Nepal | 45,513 |
| 84 | Cyprus | 39,943 |
| 85 | Honduras | 39,445 |
| 86 | Iceland | 38,386 |
| 87 | Georgia | 37,403 |
| 88 | Senegal | 36,839 |
| 89 | El Salvador | 36,587 |
| 90 | Sudan | 35,897 |
| 91 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 33,237 |
| 92 | Papua New Guinea | 32,714 |
| 93 | Haiti | 30,908 |
| 94 | Albania | 29,939 |
| 95 | Zambia | 29,369 |
| 96 | Lebanon | 28,280 (2024) |
| 97 | Armenia | 27,859 |
| 98 | Malta | 27,745 |
| 99 | Guinea | 27,515 |
| 100 | Burkina Faso | 26,866 |
| 101 | Trinidad and Tobago | 26,002 |
| 102 | Mali | 25,591 |
| 103 | Mongolia | 25,105 |
| 104 | Guyana | 25,064 |
| 105 | Mozambique | 24,726 |
| 106 | Benin | 24,402 |
| 107 | Jamaica | 23,137 |
| 108 | Niger | 22,969 |
| 109 | Chad | 21,592 |
| 110 | Gabon | 21,455 |
| 111 | Nicaragua | 20,689 |
| 112 | Kyrgyzstan | 20,160 |
| 113 | Syria | — |
| 114 | Moldova | 19,620 |
| 115 | Madagascar | 19,377 |
| 116 | Botswana | 19,186 |
| 117 | North Macedonia | 18,783 |
| 118 | Afghanistan | 18,080 (2024) |
| 119 | Yemen | — |
| 120 | Tajikistan | 17,032 |
| 121 | Laos | 16,934 |
| 122 | North Korea | — |
| 123 | Bahamas | 16,393 |
| 124 | Mauritius | 15,730 |
| 125 | Congo | 15,695 |
| 126 | Brunei | 15,565 |
| 127 | Malawi | 14,975 |
| 128 | Rwanda | 14,771 |
| 129 | Namibia | 14,686 |
| 130 | Palestine | 13,711 (2024) |
| 131 | Equatorial Guinea | 13,467 |
| 132 | Somalia | 12,944 |
| 133 | Kosovo | 12,672 |
| 134 | Mauritania | 11,953 |
| 135 | Togo | 10,951 |
| 136 | Liechtenstein | 9,424 |
| 137 | Montenegro | 9,353 |
| 138 | Sierra Leone | 8,639 |
| 139 | Maldives | 7,676 |
| 140 | Barbados | 7,559 |
| 141 | Burundi | 7,025 |
| 142 | Fiji | 6,336 |
| 143 | Eswatini | 5,201 |
| 144 | Liberia | 5,182 |
| 145 | South Sudan | 4,979 |
| 146 | Djibouti | 4,613 |
| 147 | Suriname | 4,496 |
| 148 | Andorra | 4,408 |
| 149 | Aruba | 4,319 |
| 150 | Bhutan | 3,408 |
| 151 | Central African Republic | 3,300 |
| 152 | Belize | 3,297 |
| 153 | Cape Verde | 2,915 |
| 154 | Saint Lucia | 2,659 |
| 155 | Gambia | 2,497 |
| 156 | Guinea-Bissau | 2,474 |
| 157 | Lesotho | 2,390 |
| 158 | Antigua and Barbuda | 2,340 |
| 159 | San Marino | 2,241 |
| 160 | Seychelles | 2,230 |
| 161 | Timor-Leste | 2,125 |
| 162 | Solomon Islands | 1,904 |
| 163 | Comoros | 1,613 |
| 164 | Grenada | 1,458 |
| 165 | Samoa | 1,248 |
| 166 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 1,238 |
| 167 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 1,141 |
| 168 | Vanuatu | 1,119 |
| 169 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 976 |
| 170 | Dominica | 748 |
| 171 | Tonga | 587 |
| 172 | Micronesia | 495 |
| 173 | Palau | 341 |
| 174 | Kiribati | 321 |
| 175 | Marshall Islands | 302 |
| 176 | Nauru | 172 |
| 177 | Tuvalu | 58 |
Previously, Tesla shareholders supported Musk's compensation proposals, including a 2018 package worth approximately USD 55.8 billion (roughly Rs. 4,66,000 crores). Later, the proposal was blocked by a Delaware court due to shareholder lawsuits.
Following the Delaware court's decision, Denholm and the Tesla board revisited the issue. In August, they approved an "interim" package of approximately USD 29 billion (approximately Rs 242,000 crore), and in September, a larger plan was unveiled.
However, the decision has invited uproar, with the activist organisation "Tesla Takedown" strongly criticising the decision. In its statement, it pointed out the recent decline in the company’s vehicle sales, saying, “Elon Musk has been given a trillion dollars (approximately ₹836,000 crore) for failure. Sales are declining, safety risks are increasing, and his political ideology is driving customers away. This isn't leadership; it's the world's most expensive participation trophy.”
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