Elon Musk on course to become world's first trillionaire as he wins Tesla vote

Elon Musk is now on course to become the world's first trillionaire after Tesla shareholders voted to approve the latest proposed compensation plan for its CEO

Elon Musk could soon become the world's first trillionaire after Tesla shareholders voted today.

The company approved the latest proposed compensation plan for its CEO which will see him unlock $1trillion worth of Tesla stock should the firm meet certain criteria within the next decade.

Tesla's total stock value needs to rise from about $1.5trillion today to above $8.5trillion for Musk to reach trillionaire status. The package also means Musk will not earn a salary.

To earn an additional 12 per cent of the company’s stocks by 2035, Musk also must deliver 20 million electric vehicles to buyers, 10 million active full self-driving subscriptions, one million humanoid robots, and release a commercial service of one million Tesla taxis.

If he falls short of the biggest goals, though, the package could still hand him plenty of money. Musk will get $50billion in additional Tesla shares, for example, if he increases the company's market value by 80 per cent, something he did just this past year, as well as doubling vehicle sales and tripling operating earnings - or hitting any other two of a dozen operational targets.

Musk is already the richest man in the world with a net worth of $493billion, according to Forbes magazine, and well ahead of some of the wealthiest of years past.

For his part, Musk says it's not really about the money but about getting a higher Tesla stake - it will double to nearly 30 per cent - so he can control the company. He says that's a pressing concern given Tesla's future "robot army," a reference to the company's Optimus humanoid workers that he doesn't trust anyone else to control.

Many investors came out in support of the package, including Baron Capital Management, whose founder called Musk indispensable to the company. "Without his relentless drive and uncompromising standards," wrote founder Ron Baron, "there would be no Tesla."

Critics include the biggest in the US public pension fund, Calpers, and Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest. They argue the pay is excessive, with the Norway fund expressing concern that the board that designed it, which includes Musk's brother, is not independent enough.

That echoes a decision from a Delaware court nearly two years ago that blasted the process for approving a previous Musk pay package as "deeply flawed" given his "extensive ties" to directors.