Holiday Ayo - Tesla Inc. shareholders have finally approved a monumental US$1 trillion compensation package for CEO Elon Musk, making it one of the largest pay deals in corporate history.

CEO Elon Musk's salary package was approved at US$1 trillion, equivalent to IDR 16.714 trillion (assuming an exchange rate of IDR 16.714 per US dollar).

A total of 75 percent of Tesla shareholders approved the proposed massive salary package at the company's annual general meeting of shareholders.

The vote did not include the 15 percent of the company's shares that Musk already owns.

With this fantastic salary, Musk, who is now the world's richest person, has become the world's first trillionaire.

"I really appreciate it," Musk said after the meeting results were announced, as quoted by CNN Business, Friday (November 7).

In his remarks to shareholders, Musk spoke more about the robot, which is not yet for sale, than about the company's cars.

Musk said robots would be bigger than the company's car business, or even any other business.

"I think this will be the biggest product of all time, by far. So, bigger than a cell phone, bigger than anything. I guess the way to imagine it is that every human being on Earth would want their own R2D2 or C3PO," he said.

He even predicted that Tesla robots could replace surgeons, end global poverty, and reshape the global economic order.

These robots could be produced for US$20,000 or IDR 334 million per unit.

However, the product and concept are still in development and have not yet been sold. This means that even though the salary package has been approved, Musk won't necessarily receive the hundreds of millions of shares in full.

He needs to solve the company's current problems and fulfill the big promises he has made for the next 10 years.

The Tesla CEO doesn't actually receive a cash salary. The approved salary package is in the form of a stock grant that will increase Musk's stock ownership by 423.7 million shares over the next 10 years.

Projections are that the amount of shares Musk will receive in the salary package will reach US$1 trillion.

If calculated, the owner of social media platform X receives a salary of US$275 million, equivalent to IDR 4,595 billion, per day, far exceeding the pay package of any corporate executive in the history of the universe.

Of course, Musk has a significant target to achieve with such a large salary. Shareholders believe that only Musk is capable of realizing the company's ambition to become a giant in artificial intelligence, humanoid robots, and robotaxi services.

If Musk meets all targets within 10 years, Tesla's value is projected to soar to US$8.5 trillion, equivalent to IDR 142.024 trillion.

Musk previously signaled that he might focus more on his other companies, such as SpaceX, xAI, and Neuralink, if this compensation package is not approved.

Tesla Chairman Robyn Denholm also continues to remind investors of the significant risks if Musk leaves.

"Without Elon, Tesla could lose significant value," Denholm wrote in a letter to shareholders in October.

However, some corporate governance experts believe such threats should not cause the board to give up so easily.

"It's like he's threatening himself, 'Give me $1 trillion. The board's job isn't just to nod every time the CEO asks for something,'" said Gautam Mukunda of the Yale School of Management.

Critics argue that Tesla's board is now in a difficult position because the company is so dependent on Musk, but also lacks a clear plan should he leave.

Despite the criticism, some believe this package is actually in the best interests of investors. The reason is that Musk will only receive such substantial compensation if Tesla's value rises significantly in the future.