In 2018, Tesla's stock price was around $22 a share. It was the most shorted stock in NASDAQ, with 26% of the entire float (stock not owned by controlling shareholders) shorted. Famously, Bill Gates was a massive player in the short end of the game (FYI Gates has been a major player in the Green Revolution).
Elon Musk made a deal with the Board of the Company that he would forego any compensation from the company until the end of 2022, where he would get a payment based on specific outcomes. The board agreed but also gave him a salary of $37,000 per annum, which was the lowest salary in the company. Elon Musk never took the money, it is still in the accounts payable.
In 2023, the total compensation amount came out to a staggering US$ 50 billion. IN 2018 Tesla generated gross profits of $4 billion. In 2023, Tesla generated gross profits of US$ 17.4 billion, and the share price rose from $22.00 to $248 (it has lost about $50.00 per share since then).
The deal with the board was agreed in 2018. At the time no one, even Elon Musk, believed that Tesla would become such a profitable entity. He had always assumed that others (Ford, GM, BMW etc etc) would come around and compete. So the 12x increase in share price was not anticipated by anyone. Now, the US courts have decided ex post facto that the compensation is unfair to someone!
Part of the problem is that the sums are so large, that they "offend". Granted, few people have ever done so much with available capital as Elon Musk. He said it best in 2023, he was having a hard time keeping his older employees because they were so rich now (we are talking about assembly floor people), this is not a white-collar problem, it's a blue-collar problem. It is probably why the UWA has never been able to organize in Telsa plants.
New workers want to emulate older workers. Think of what this means!
Aside from having nine children, Musk is famous for having a rather low-key and inexpensive lifestyle. Security private jet for sure, but he works and works and works. The problem is that everyone is offended by the amount until they hear the backstory. Elon Musk has worked for Tesla for nearly a decade with no compensation, everyone believes that he IS the architect of the company's success.
Everyone agrees until they hear the staggering amount...funny!
Note: Is $50 billion outrageous, probably but the question then becomes what is the number, What is the value of Musk at Tesla? That's the real fear because it is evident that he is the one who pushes innovation. Take SpaceX, the Rapor 2 is a great engine, but the Raptor 3 is so much better, cheaper, quicker to manufacture and more powerful.
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