Now he is poised to take the company into its next phase, defined by its shift from an auto manufacturer to a firm pursuing massive software bets and a foray into robotics.
Musk triumphantly took the stage at the company’s headquarters in Austin, to steep applause and chants of his name.
“What we’re about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter of the future of Tesla but a whole new book,” he announced.
Musk laid out a product road map including Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot, its Cybercab autonomous vehicle and an existing fleet of Teslas that, through software updates, the company hopes to one day make autonomous. He declared the company’s new mission: “to achieve sustainable abundance,” a shift from its prior pursuit “to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
Musk, who has a track record of overpromising, laid out far-reaching ambitions for the robot, from industrial applications to home assistance to health care. He said the number of such robots could eventually stretch into the tens of billions. “People often talk about eliminating poverty, giving everyone amazing medical care,” he said. “Well there’s actually only one way to do that and that’s with the Optimus robot.”
The pay package is a vote of confidence from shareholders that Musk is the man to take Tesla to those new heights, heralding a new era of compensation even among CEOs with sky-high pay. Its only close comparison is Musk’s prior deal with Tesla, a $56 billion pay package that is before the Delaware Supreme Court after another Delaware judge invalidated it, citing an allegedly unfair process.
Rohan Williamson, professor of finance at Georgetown University, said Musk’s argument for commanding such a vast paycheck is largely unique to Tesla — though similar deals may become more prevalent in an age of founder-led start-ups.
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