Tesla shareholders have voted to approve CEO Elon Musk’s record-setting $1 trillion performance-based pay package, a deal that could make him the highest-paid executive in history—if he delivers on a series of ambitious milestones tied to the company’s growth in cars, AI, and robotics.
More than 75% of votes cast supported the plan, which rewards Musk in 12 tranches of stock only if Tesla reaches major goals such as boosting market value to $8.5 trillion, expanding production, and scaling new products like robotaxis and humanoid robots. Again, he only gets paid if performance metrics are met.
Musk, speaking to shareholders at Tesla’s Austin headquarters, said, “What we’re about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter of the future of Tesla but a whole new book.”
Last night after the shareholder meeting, Musk said, “Time to pull a LOT of rabbits out of the hat.”
The approval comes as Tesla outlined a major 2026 roadmap filled with new vehicles and AI breakthroughs.
Cybercab and Robotaxi Network
Tesla confirmed that its long-delayed Cybercab, a two-seat fully autonomous ride-hailing car, will begin mass production in April 2026 at Giga Texas. The steering wheel–free vehicle will use Tesla’s in-house 4680 battery cells and be built on the company’s new “unboxed” manufacturing line, which can reportedly assemble a car in under 10 seconds.
The company’s Robotaxi service is already running in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area, with expansion planned for Miami, Dallas, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. Tesla expects to remove human safety drivers from Austin rides by late 2025, citing Waymo’s regulatory work as paving the way for broader rollout.
Full Self-Driving and AI5 Chip
Musk said Tesla is just “months away” from achieving Full Self-Driving (FSD) Unsupervised, claiming current users see one crash every 4.92 million miles, far safer than the U.S. average of one per 700,000 miles. The feature is active in six countries including Canada, with EU approval expected in early 2026, alongside a new update that will allow texting while using FSD.
The company also revealed its new AI5 chip, designed in-house for Tesla vehicles, data centres, and robots. The chip delivers up to 50× more performance than its predecessor and will be co-produced by TSMC and Samsung in the U.S. starting 2027, with an AI6 version due in 2028. Musk also hinted at building a Tesla-owned chip fabrication plant in the future (and even partnering with more chipmakers such as Intel), as chips are the limiting factor in the company scaling up to meet its future vision.
Optimus Robot, Semi, and Roadster
Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot has entered pilot production in Fremont, with large-scale Gen 3 manufacturing set for 2026 and a goal of reducing unit cost to $20,000 US. Optimus units are already doing light factory tasks inside Tesla facilities. Below is a video of Optimus dancing after it was announced Musk’s performance-for-pay deal was approved:
The company also unveiled a redesigned Tesla Semi, now more efficient and built for autonomous driving. It delivers 1.7 kWh per mile, supports 1.2 MW charging, and will scale production at Tesla’s Nevada factory in 2026, targeting 50,000 units annually.
Finally, Musk confirmed the long-awaited next-gen Roadster will be unveiled on April 1, 2026, with production to follow 12 to 18 months later. Will the Tesla Roadster fly or not?
Despite mixed opinions among institutional investors—some calling the $1 trillion package “astronomical”—the strong shareholder support shows continued confidence in Musk’s ability to deliver on Tesla’s sprawling vision: turning the company from an automaker into a global AI and robotics powerhouse. Let’s wait and find out what’s going to happen.
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It's nuts because the stock is trading at > 265x P/E ratio so really the company doesn't earn much profit. It's basically a meme stock.