🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 51 (from laksa108)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa051.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/07/business/elon-musk-tesla-trillion\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/07/business/elon-musk-tesla-trillion\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/09\/07\/business\/elon-musk-tesla-trillion","crawl_time":1775512888,"first_indexed_time":1757247058,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,cnn!www,\/2025\/09\/07\/business\/elon-musk-tesla-trillion s443","src_root_hash":"2312100192101524051","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Why Tesla just threw $1 trillion at Elon Musk | CNN Business","meta_descriptions":["What do you give a man who already can buy anything? How about $1 trillion?"],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"What do you give a man who already can buy anything? How about $1 trillion?\nThat’s what the Tesla board of directors have decided to offer CEO Elon Musk. They unveiled a new pay package Friday for shareholders to consider that could give Musk up to 423.7 million additional shares of Tesla stock in the next decade.\nThose potential shares might “only” be worth $148.7 billion as of Friday’s closing price. But if Tesla shares appreciate as much as the pay package forecasts, they would be worth close to $1 trillion once Tesla hits certain milestones: He gets all of those shares only if Tesla becomes worth $8.5 trillion, about eight times as much as it is today, and twice as much as any company on the planet has ever been worth.\nAd Feedback\nThe company’s board says in its filing to shareholders that it needs to offer Musk a historic pay package or risk losing the leader who has become synonymous – for better or worse – with the Tesla brand.\nThe board said that during the negotiations on the pay package, “Musk also raised the possibility that he may pursue other interests that may afford him greater influence if he did not receive such assurances.”\nThe board said it “believes that Mr. Musk singularly possesses the leadership characteristics necessary to transform Tesla and realize its long-term mission at an unparalleled level.”\nBut it’s also been clear that the company was not pleased that Musk has been viewing his Tesla gig as a part-time job. He has focused much of his attention on some of his other privately held companies, such rocket company SpaceX and its satellite internet offering Starlink and his artificial intelligence firm xAI, which now owns his platform X, formerly known as\nTwitter, which Musk bought\nfor $44 billion of his own money in 2022. And Musk has become more involved in politics, including plans to start a third party.\nEarlier this year, when Musk was still leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the board began a search for a possible successor for Musk, according to the\nWall Street Journal\n. Both board chair Robyn Denholm and Musk denied the report. Soon after the reported search began, Musk announced he would be leaving DOGE to spend most of his time again running Tesla.\n“The simple message the board is sending to Elon: ‘We want your attention on Tesla,’” wrote Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management in a note Friday. “Implicit in that message is the promise that he’ll have the control he’s been seeking (a 25% stake) and that it will be worth his time.”\nMusk demands control\nMusk has made clear control of Tesla is vitally important to him. He said in a post on X in January 2024 that\nhe needs to control at least 25%\nof Tesla shares.\n“I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned,” Musk wrote in a\npost on X\n. “Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.”\nThat need for control is what’s behind this pay package, said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, an investment firm and one of the early investors in Tesla.\n“This is all about Musk being scared about being kicked out of Tesla because he only owns 13%,” said Gerber, who has sold almost his entire stake in Tesla.\nMunster and other Tesla bulls believe he’s right that AI, autonomous vehicles, robotaxis and humanoid robots are the future that will lift Tesla to the $8.5 billion target price, and adjusted operating profits of $400 billion that would be 20 times greater than Tesla’s previous record profit.\n“We are still just scratching the surface of physical AI: current use cases are almost comical, limited to nascent robotaxi trials by Waymo and Tesla,” Munster wrote Friday. “Eventually, physical AI will impact anything that moves, representing a market potential that’s hard for me to fathom.”\nBut critics of Musk and Tesla predict that Musk will fail to deliver on that potential, just as he failed to meet many previous target dates for the company to produce full self-driving vehicles and robotaxis. They say that Musk’s real value to Tesla is his ability to convince Wall Street of the bright future that lays ahead, despite a trail of broken promises.\n“Elon Musk has been saying since 2014 ‘we will have a fully autonomous car next year.’ It hasn’t happened, but that promise has been valued in the billions by Wall Street,” said analyst Gordon Johnson, one of the harsher critics of Tesla. “Elon Musk is a master manipulator. He’s been able to keep the stock elevated. The reason the board is paying him is he’s willing to say things that other CEOs aren’t willing to say or get away with.”\nDespite that track record, there’s a good chance that Tesla investors will approve the potentially massive pay package. They have regularly approved his pay packages in the past, even reconfirming a pay package in 2024 that a Delaware judge had thrown out as being unfair to shareholders and the company.\nThey will see that Musk won’t get anything from this new package unless the company, and their own holdings, greatly increase in value. The first target that Musk and Tesla will have to hit before he sees any shares will be $2 trillion, or nearly twice its current value.\n“They’ll think ‘I kind of having nothing to lose,’” Gerber said. He said their thinking will be along the lines of: “The goals are so high that if he makes them, I’ll make a lot of money. So who cares if he gets $1 trillion.”\n“But if you actually think about it, it’s absurd,” he said.","attrs_markdown":"Ad Feedback\n\nThank You\\!\n\nYour effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much appreciated.\n\nClose\n\n[Business](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business)\n\n[Markets](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/markets)\n\n[Tech](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business\/tech)\n\n[Media](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business\/media)\n\n[Calculators](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business\/financial-calculators)\n\n[Videos](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business\/videos)\n\n[More]()\n\n[Markets](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/markets)   [Tech](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business\/tech)   [Media](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business\/media)   [Calculators](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business\/financial-calculators)   [Videos](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business\/videos)\n\n[Watch](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/subscription\/all-access)   [Listen](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/audio)\n\nSubscribe\n\nSign in\n\nMy Account\n\n- [Settings](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/account\/settings)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters)\n- [Topics you follow](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/follow?iid=fw_var-nav)\n- [Sign out](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/09\/07\/business\/elon-musk-tesla-trillion)\n\nYour CNN account Sign in to your CNN account\n\nSign in\n\nMy Account\n\n- [Settings](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/account\/settings)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters)\n- [Topics you follow](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/follow?iid=fw_var-nav)\n- [Sign out](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/09\/07\/business\/elon-musk-tesla-trillion)\n\nYour CNN account Sign in to your CNN account\n***\n[Listen](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/audio)   [Watch](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/subscription\/all-access)\n***\nEdition\n\n[US](https:\/\/us.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n\n[International](https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n\n[Arabic](https:\/\/arabic.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n\n[Español](https:\/\/cnnespanol.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n\nEdition\n\n- [US](https:\/\/us.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n- [International](https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n- [Arabic](https:\/\/arabic.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n- [Español](https:\/\/cnnespanol.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n***\n[Markets](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/markets)\n\n[Tech](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business\/tech)\n\n[Media](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business\/media)\n\n[Calculators](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business\/financial-calculators)\n\n[Videos](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business\/videos)\n***\nFollow CNN\n\nDownload the CNN App\n***\n\n- [US](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us)\n  - 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Please check back later.\n\n[Business](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business)  5 min read\n\n# Why Tesla just threw \\$1 trillion at Elon Musk\nBy\n\n[![Chris Isidore byline](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/cnn-fallback-image.jpg)](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles\/chris-isidore)[Chris Isidore](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles\/chris-isidore)\n\nUpdated Sep 7, 2025, 8:00 AM ET\n\nPublished Sep 7, 2025, 8:00 AM ET\n\nSep 7, 2025\n\nPUBLISHED\n\nSep 7, 2025, 8:00 AM ET\n\n![Elon Musk walks on South Lawn of the White House.](https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/ap25069168706458.jpg?c=original&q=w_860,c_fill)\n\nElon Musk walks on South Lawn of the White House.\n\nJose Luis Magana\/AP\n\nCorporate news\n\nTech news\n\n[See all topics](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/follow)\n\nFacebook\n\nTweet\n\n[Email](mailto:?subject=CNN%20content%20share&body=Check%20out%20this%20article%3A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F09%2F07%2Fbusiness%2Felon-musk-tesla-trillion \"Share with email\")\n\nLink\n\nThreads\n\nLink Copied\\!\n\nWhat do you give a man who already can buy anything? How about \\$1 trillion?\n\nThat’s what the Tesla board of directors have decided to offer CEO Elon Musk. They unveiled a new pay package Friday for shareholders to consider that could give Musk up to 423.7 million additional shares of Tesla stock in the next decade.\n\nThose potential shares might “only” be worth \\$148.7 billion as of Friday’s closing price. But if Tesla shares appreciate as much as the pay package forecasts, they would be worth close to \\$1 trillion once Tesla hits certain milestones: He gets all of those shares only if Tesla becomes worth \\$8.5 trillion, about eight times as much as it is today, and twice as much as any company on the planet has ever been worth.\n\nAd Feedback\n\nThe company’s board says in its filing to shareholders that it needs to offer Musk a historic pay package or risk losing the leader who has become synonymous – for better or worse – with the Tesla brand.\n\nThe board said that during the negotiations on the pay package, “Musk also raised the possibility that he may pursue other interests that may afford him greater influence if he did not receive such assurances.”\n\nThe board said it “believes that Mr. Musk singularly possesses the leadership characteristics necessary to transform Tesla and realize its long-term mission at an unparalleled level.”\n\nBut it’s also been clear that the company was not pleased that Musk has been viewing his Tesla gig as a part-time job. He has focused much of his attention on some of his other privately held companies, such rocket company SpaceX and its satellite internet offering Starlink and his artificial intelligence firm xAI, which now owns his platform X, formerly known as [Twitter, which Musk bought](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/10\/28\/tech\/elon-musk-twitter-deal-close) for \\$44 billion of his own money in 2022. And Musk has become more involved in politics, including plans to start a third party.\n\nEarlier this year, when Musk was still leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the board began a search for a possible successor for Musk, according to the [Wall Street Journal](https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/business\/autos\/tesla-musk-ceo-search-board-0ce61af9?mod=hp_lead_pos1). Both board chair Robyn Denholm and Musk denied the report. Soon after the reported search began, Musk announced he would be leaving DOGE to spend most of his time again running Tesla.\n\n“The simple message the board is sending to Elon: ‘We want your attention on Tesla,’” wrote Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management in a note Friday. “Implicit in that message is the promise that he’ll have the control he’s been seeking (a 25% stake) and that it will be worth his time.”\n\n## Musk demands control\nMusk has made clear control of Tesla is vitally important to him. He said in a post on X in January 2024 that [he needs to control at least 25%](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/01\/16\/tech\/elon-musk-tesla-pay-package\/index.html) of Tesla shares.\n\n“I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned,” Musk wrote in a [post on X](https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1746999488252703098). “Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.”\n\nThat need for control is what’s behind this pay package, said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, an investment firm and one of the early investors in Tesla.\n\n“This is all about Musk being scared about being kicked out of Tesla because he only owns 13%,” said Gerber, who has sold almost his entire stake in Tesla.\n\nMunster and other Tesla bulls believe he’s right that AI, autonomous vehicles, robotaxis and humanoid robots are the future that will lift Tesla to the \\$8.5 billion target price, and adjusted operating profits of \\$400 billion that would be 20 times greater than Tesla’s previous record profit.\n\n“We are still just scratching the surface of physical AI: current use cases are almost comical, limited to nascent robotaxi trials by Waymo and Tesla,” Munster wrote Friday. “Eventually, physical AI will impact anything that moves, representing a market potential that’s hard for me to fathom.”\n\n## Ambitious targets\nBut critics of Musk and Tesla predict that Musk will fail to deliver on that potential, just as he failed to meet many previous target dates for the company to produce full self-driving vehicles and robotaxis. They say that Musk’s real value to Tesla is his ability to convince Wall Street of the bright future that lays ahead, despite a trail of broken promises.\n\n“Elon Musk has been saying since 2014 ‘we will have a fully autonomous car next year.’ It hasn’t happened, but that promise has been valued in the billions by Wall Street,” said analyst Gordon Johnson, one of the harsher critics of Tesla. “Elon Musk is a master manipulator. He’s been able to keep the stock elevated. The reason the board is paying him is he’s willing to say things that other CEOs aren’t willing to say or get away with.”\n\nDespite that track record, there’s a good chance that Tesla investors will approve the potentially massive pay package. They have regularly approved his pay packages in the past, even reconfirming a pay package in 2024 that a Delaware judge had thrown out as being unfair to shareholders and the company.\n\nThey will see that Musk won’t get anything from this new package unless the company, and their own holdings, greatly increase in value. The first target that Musk and Tesla will have to hit before he sees any shares will be \\$2 trillion, or nearly twice its current value.\n\n“They’ll think ‘I kind of having nothing to lose,’” Gerber said. He said their thinking will be along the lines of: “The goals are so high that if he makes them, I’ll make a lot of money. 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Market holidays and trading hours provided by Copp Clark Limited.\n\n[Terms of Use](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/terms)   [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/privacy)  [Manage Cookies](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/09\/07\/business\/elon-musk-tesla-trillion)  [Ad Choices](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/ad-choices)   [Accessibility & CC](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/accessibility)   [About](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/about)   [Subscribe](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/subscription?source=sub_web_footerlink-link)   [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters)   [Transcripts](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/transcripts)   [Help Center](https:\/\/help.cnn.com\/)\n\n© 2026 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved.   \n CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.\n\n## Download the CNN app\nScan the QR code to download the CNN app on Google Play.\n\n![Scan the QR code to download the CNN app from Google Play.](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/google-play-cnn-app-qr-code.png)\n\n## Download the CNN app\nScan the QR code to download the CNN app from the Apple Store.\n\n![Scan the QR code to download the CNN app from the Apple Store.](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/app-store-cnn-app-qr-code.png)\n\n![CNN Logo](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/cnn.svg)\n\n## Legal Terms and Privacy\nBy clicking Agree, you have read and agree to the Terms of Use and agree to the collection and use of your information by cookies and similar technologies, as set forth in our Privacy Policy.\n\nBy clicking \"Agree\", you have read and agree to the [Terms of Use](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/terms) and agree to the collection and use of your information by cookies and similar technologies, as set forth in our [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/privacy).\n\n[Agree](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/09\/07\/business\/elon-musk-tesla-trillion)","attrs_readable_markdown":"What do you give a man who already can buy anything? How about \\$1 trillion?\n\nThat’s what the Tesla board of directors have decided to offer CEO Elon Musk. They unveiled a new pay package Friday for shareholders to consider that could give Musk up to 423.7 million additional shares of Tesla stock in the next decade.\n\nThose potential shares might “only” be worth \\$148.7 billion as of Friday’s closing price. But if Tesla shares appreciate as much as the pay package forecasts, they would be worth close to \\$1 trillion once Tesla hits certain milestones: He gets all of those shares only if Tesla becomes worth \\$8.5 trillion, about eight times as much as it is today, and twice as much as any company on the planet has ever been worth.\n\nAd Feedback\n\nThe company’s board says in its filing to shareholders that it needs to offer Musk a historic pay package or risk losing the leader who has become synonymous – for better or worse – with the Tesla brand.\n\nThe board said that during the negotiations on the pay package, “Musk also raised the possibility that he may pursue other interests that may afford him greater influence if he did not receive such assurances.”\n\nThe board said it “believes that Mr. Musk singularly possesses the leadership characteristics necessary to transform Tesla and realize its long-term mission at an unparalleled level.”\n\nBut it’s also been clear that the company was not pleased that Musk has been viewing his Tesla gig as a part-time job. He has focused much of his attention on some of his other privately held companies, such rocket company SpaceX and its satellite internet offering Starlink and his artificial intelligence firm xAI, which now owns his platform X, formerly known as [Twitter, which Musk bought](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/10\/28\/tech\/elon-musk-twitter-deal-close) for \\$44 billion of his own money in 2022. And Musk has become more involved in politics, including plans to start a third party.\n\nEarlier this year, when Musk was still leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the board began a search for a possible successor for Musk, according to the [Wall Street Journal](https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/business\/autos\/tesla-musk-ceo-search-board-0ce61af9?mod=hp_lead_pos1). Both board chair Robyn Denholm and Musk denied the report. Soon after the reported search began, Musk announced he would be leaving DOGE to spend most of his time again running Tesla.\n\n“The simple message the board is sending to Elon: ‘We want your attention on Tesla,’” wrote Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management in a note Friday. “Implicit in that message is the promise that he’ll have the control he’s been seeking (a 25% stake) and that it will be worth his time.”\n\n## Musk demands control\nMusk has made clear control of Tesla is vitally important to him. He said in a post on X in January 2024 that [he needs to control at least 25%](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/01\/16\/tech\/elon-musk-tesla-pay-package\/index.html) of Tesla shares.\n\n“I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned,” Musk wrote in a [post on X](https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1746999488252703098). “Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.”\n\nThat need for control is what’s behind this pay package, said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, an investment firm and one of the early investors in Tesla.\n\n“This is all about Musk being scared about being kicked out of Tesla because he only owns 13%,” said Gerber, who has sold almost his entire stake in Tesla.\n\nMunster and other Tesla bulls believe he’s right that AI, autonomous vehicles, robotaxis and humanoid robots are the future that will lift Tesla to the \\$8.5 billion target price, and adjusted operating profits of \\$400 billion that would be 20 times greater than Tesla’s previous record profit.\n\n“We are still just scratching the surface of physical AI: current use cases are almost comical, limited to nascent robotaxi trials by Waymo and Tesla,” Munster wrote Friday. “Eventually, physical AI will impact anything that moves, representing a market potential that’s hard for me to fathom.”\n\nBut critics of Musk and Tesla predict that Musk will fail to deliver on that potential, just as he failed to meet many previous target dates for the company to produce full self-driving vehicles and robotaxis. They say that Musk’s real value to Tesla is his ability to convince Wall Street of the bright future that lays ahead, despite a trail of broken promises.\n\n“Elon Musk has been saying since 2014 ‘we will have a fully autonomous car next year.’ It hasn’t happened, but that promise has been valued in the billions by Wall Street,” said analyst Gordon Johnson, one of the harsher critics of Tesla. “Elon Musk is a master manipulator. He’s been able to keep the stock elevated. The reason the board is paying him is he’s willing to say things that other CEOs aren’t willing to say or get away with.”\n\nDespite that track record, there’s a good chance that Tesla investors will approve the potentially massive pay package. They have regularly approved his pay packages in the past, even reconfirming a pay package in 2024 that a Delaware judge had thrown out as being unfair to shareholders and the company.\n\nThey will see that Musk won’t get anything from this new package unless the company, and their own holdings, greatly increase in value. The first target that Musk and Tesla will have to hit before he sees any shares will be \\$2 trillion, or nearly twice its current value.\n\n“They’ll think ‘I kind of having nothing to lose,’” Gerber said. He said their thinking will be along the lines of: “The goals are so high that if he makes them, I’ll make a lot of money. So who cares if he gets \\$1 trillion.”\n\n“But if you actually think about it, it’s absurd,” he said.","meta_canonical":null}

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Boilerpipe Text	What do you give a man who already can buy anything? How about $1 trillion? That’s what the Tesla board of directors have decided to offer CEO Elon Musk. They unveiled a new pay package Friday for shareholders to consider that could give Musk up to 423.7 million additional shares of Tesla stock in the next decade. Those potential shares might “only” be worth $148.7 billion as of Friday’s closing price. But if Tesla shares appreciate as much as the pay package forecasts, they would be worth close to $1 trillion once Tesla hits certain milestones: He gets all of those shares only if Tesla becomes worth $8.5 trillion, about eight times as much as it is today, and twice as much as any company on the planet has ever been worth. Ad Feedback The company’s board says in its filing to shareholders that it needs to offer Musk a historic pay package or risk losing the leader who has become synonymous – for better or worse – with the Tesla brand. The board said that during the negotiations on the pay package, “Musk also raised the possibility that he may pursue other interests that may afford him greater influence if he did not receive such assurances.” The board said it “believes that Mr. Musk singularly possesses the leadership characteristics necessary to transform Tesla and realize its long-term mission at an unparalleled level.” But it’s also been clear that the company was not pleased that Musk has been viewing his Tesla gig as a part-time job. He has focused much of his attention on some of his other privately held companies, such rocket company SpaceX and its satellite internet offering Starlink and his artificial intelligence firm xAI, which now owns his platform X, formerly known as Twitter, which Musk bought for $44 billion of his own money in 2022. And Musk has become more involved in politics, including plans to start a third party. Earlier this year, when Musk was still leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the board began a search for a possible successor for Musk, according to the Wall Street Journal . Both board chair Robyn Denholm and Musk denied the report. Soon after the reported search began, Musk announced he would be leaving DOGE to spend most of his time again running Tesla. “The simple message the board is sending to Elon: ‘We want your attention on Tesla,’” wrote Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management in a note Friday. “Implicit in that message is the promise that he’ll have the control he’s been seeking (a 25% stake) and that it will be worth his time.” Musk demands control Musk has made clear control of Tesla is vitally important to him. He said in a post on X in January 2024 that he needs to control at least 25% of Tesla shares. “I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned,” Musk wrote in a post on X . “Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.” That need for control is what’s behind this pay package, said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, an investment firm and one of the early investors in Tesla. “This is all about Musk being scared about being kicked out of Tesla because he only owns 13%,” said Gerber, who has sold almost his entire stake in Tesla. Munster and other Tesla bulls believe he’s right that AI, autonomous vehicles, robotaxis and humanoid robots are the future that will lift Tesla to the $8.5 billion target price, and adjusted operating profits of $400 billion that would be 20 times greater than Tesla’s previous record profit. “We are still just scratching the surface of physical AI: current use cases are almost comical, limited to nascent robotaxi trials by Waymo and Tesla,” Munster wrote Friday. “Eventually, physical AI will impact anything that moves, representing a market potential that’s hard for me to fathom.” But critics of Musk and Tesla predict that Musk will fail to deliver on that potential, just as he failed to meet many previous target dates for the company to produce full self-driving vehicles and robotaxis. They say that Musk’s real value to Tesla is his ability to convince Wall Street of the bright future that lays ahead, despite a trail of broken promises. “Elon Musk has been saying since 2014 ‘we will have a fully autonomous car next year.’ It hasn’t happened, but that promise has been valued in the billions by Wall Street,” said analyst Gordon Johnson, one of the harsher critics of Tesla. “Elon Musk is a master manipulator. He’s been able to keep the stock elevated. The reason the board is paying him is he’s willing to say things that other CEOs aren’t willing to say or get away with.” Despite that track record, there’s a good chance that Tesla investors will approve the potentially massive pay package. They have regularly approved his pay packages in the past, even reconfirming a pay package in 2024 that a Delaware judge had thrown out as being unfair to shareholders and the company. They will see that Musk won’t get anything from this new package unless the company, and their own holdings, greatly increase in value. The first target that Musk and Tesla will have to hit before he sees any shares will be $2 trillion, or nearly twice its current value. “They’ll think ‘I kind of having nothing to lose,’” Gerber said. He said their thinking will be along the lines of: “The goals are so high that if he makes them, I’ll make a lot of money. So who cares if he gets $1 trillion.” “But if you actually think about it, it’s absurd,” he said.
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[Business](https://www.cnn.com/business) 5 min read # Why Tesla just threw \$1 trillion at Elon Musk By [![Chris Isidore byline](https://www.cnn.com/media/sites/cnn/cnn-fallback-image.jpg)](https://www.cnn.com/profiles/chris-isidore)[Chris Isidore](https://www.cnn.com/profiles/chris-isidore) Updated Sep 7, 2025, 8:00 AM ET Published Sep 7, 2025, 8:00 AM ET Sep 7, 2025 PUBLISHED Sep 7, 2025, 8:00 AM ET ![Elon Musk walks on South Lawn of the White House.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/ap25069168706458.jpg?c=original&q=w_860,c_fill) Elon Musk walks on South Lawn of the White House. Jose Luis Magana/AP Corporate news Tech news [See all topics](https://www.cnn.com/follow) Facebook Tweet [Email](mailto:?subject=CNN%20content%20share&body=Check%20out%20this%20article%3A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F09%2F07%2Fbusiness%2Felon-musk-tesla-trillion "Share with email") Link Threads Link Copied\! What do you give a man who already can buy anything? How about \$1 trillion? That’s what the Tesla board of directors have decided to offer CEO Elon Musk. They unveiled a new pay package Friday for shareholders to consider that could give Musk up to 423.7 million additional shares of Tesla stock in the next decade. Those potential shares might “only” be worth \$148.7 billion as of Friday’s closing price. But if Tesla shares appreciate as much as the pay package forecasts, they would be worth close to \$1 trillion once Tesla hits certain milestones: He gets all of those shares only if Tesla becomes worth \$8.5 trillion, about eight times as much as it is today, and twice as much as any company on the planet has ever been worth. Ad Feedback The company’s board says in its filing to shareholders that it needs to offer Musk a historic pay package or risk losing the leader who has become synonymous – for better or worse – with the Tesla brand. The board said that during the negotiations on the pay package, “Musk also raised the possibility that he may pursue other interests that may afford him greater influence if he did not receive such assurances.” The board said it “believes that Mr. Musk singularly possesses the leadership characteristics necessary to transform Tesla and realize its long-term mission at an unparalleled level.” But it’s also been clear that the company was not pleased that Musk has been viewing his Tesla gig as a part-time job. He has focused much of his attention on some of his other privately held companies, such rocket company SpaceX and its satellite internet offering Starlink and his artificial intelligence firm xAI, which now owns his platform X, formerly known as [Twitter, which Musk bought](https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/28/tech/elon-musk-twitter-deal-close) for \$44 billion of his own money in 2022. And Musk has become more involved in politics, including plans to start a third party. Earlier this year, when Musk was still leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the board began a search for a possible successor for Musk, according to the [Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/tesla-musk-ceo-search-board-0ce61af9?mod=hp_lead_pos1). Both board chair Robyn Denholm and Musk denied the report. Soon after the reported search began, Musk announced he would be leaving DOGE to spend most of his time again running Tesla. “The simple message the board is sending to Elon: ‘We want your attention on Tesla,’” wrote Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management in a note Friday. “Implicit in that message is the promise that he’ll have the control he’s been seeking (a 25% stake) and that it will be worth his time.” ## Musk demands control Musk has made clear control of Tesla is vitally important to him. He said in a post on X in January 2024 that [he needs to control at least 25%](https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/16/tech/elon-musk-tesla-pay-package/index.html) of Tesla shares. “I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned,” Musk wrote in a [post on X](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1746999488252703098). “Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.” That need for control is what’s behind this pay package, said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, an investment firm and one of the early investors in Tesla. “This is all about Musk being scared about being kicked out of Tesla because he only owns 13%,” said Gerber, who has sold almost his entire stake in Tesla. Munster and other Tesla bulls believe he’s right that AI, autonomous vehicles, robotaxis and humanoid robots are the future that will lift Tesla to the \$8.5 billion target price, and adjusted operating profits of \$400 billion that would be 20 times greater than Tesla’s previous record profit. “We are still just scratching the surface of physical AI: current use cases are almost comical, limited to nascent robotaxi trials by Waymo and Tesla,” Munster wrote Friday. “Eventually, physical AI will impact anything that moves, representing a market potential that’s hard for me to fathom.” ## Ambitious targets But critics of Musk and Tesla predict that Musk will fail to deliver on that potential, just as he failed to meet many previous target dates for the company to produce full self-driving vehicles and robotaxis. They say that Musk’s real value to Tesla is his ability to convince Wall Street of the bright future that lays ahead, despite a trail of broken promises. “Elon Musk has been saying since 2014 ‘we will have a fully autonomous car next year.’ It hasn’t happened, but that promise has been valued in the billions by Wall Street,” said analyst Gordon Johnson, one of the harsher critics of Tesla. “Elon Musk is a master manipulator. He’s been able to keep the stock elevated. The reason the board is paying him is he’s willing to say things that other CEOs aren’t willing to say or get away with.” Despite that track record, there’s a good chance that Tesla investors will approve the potentially massive pay package. They have regularly approved his pay packages in the past, even reconfirming a pay package in 2024 that a Delaware judge had thrown out as being unfair to shareholders and the company. They will see that Musk won’t get anything from this new package unless the company, and their own holdings, greatly increase in value. The first target that Musk and Tesla will have to hit before he sees any shares will be \$2 trillion, or nearly twice its current value. “They’ll think ‘I kind of having nothing to lose,’” Gerber said. He said their thinking will be along the lines of: “The goals are so high that if he makes them, I’ll make a lot of money. So who cares if he gets \$1 trillion.” “But if you actually think about it, it’s absurd,” he said. Corporate news Tech news [See all topics](https://www.cnn.com/follow) Facebook Tweet [Email](mailto:?subject=CNN%20content%20share&body=Check%20out%20this%20article%3A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F09%2F07%2Fbusiness%2Felon-musk-tesla-trillion "Share with email") Link Threads Link Copied\! 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Readable Markdown	What do you give a man who already can buy anything? How about \$1 trillion? That’s what the Tesla board of directors have decided to offer CEO Elon Musk. They unveiled a new pay package Friday for shareholders to consider that could give Musk up to 423.7 million additional shares of Tesla stock in the next decade. Those potential shares might “only” be worth \$148.7 billion as of Friday’s closing price. But if Tesla shares appreciate as much as the pay package forecasts, they would be worth close to \$1 trillion once Tesla hits certain milestones: He gets all of those shares only if Tesla becomes worth \$8.5 trillion, about eight times as much as it is today, and twice as much as any company on the planet has ever been worth. Ad Feedback The company’s board says in its filing to shareholders that it needs to offer Musk a historic pay package or risk losing the leader who has become synonymous – for better or worse – with the Tesla brand. The board said that during the negotiations on the pay package, “Musk also raised the possibility that he may pursue other interests that may afford him greater influence if he did not receive such assurances.” The board said it “believes that Mr. Musk singularly possesses the leadership characteristics necessary to transform Tesla and realize its long-term mission at an unparalleled level.” But it’s also been clear that the company was not pleased that Musk has been viewing his Tesla gig as a part-time job. He has focused much of his attention on some of his other privately held companies, such rocket company SpaceX and its satellite internet offering Starlink and his artificial intelligence firm xAI, which now owns his platform X, formerly known as [Twitter, which Musk bought](https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/28/tech/elon-musk-twitter-deal-close) for \$44 billion of his own money in 2022. And Musk has become more involved in politics, including plans to start a third party. Earlier this year, when Musk was still leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the board began a search for a possible successor for Musk, according to the [Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/tesla-musk-ceo-search-board-0ce61af9?mod=hp_lead_pos1). Both board chair Robyn Denholm and Musk denied the report. Soon after the reported search began, Musk announced he would be leaving DOGE to spend most of his time again running Tesla. “The simple message the board is sending to Elon: ‘We want your attention on Tesla,’” wrote Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management in a note Friday. “Implicit in that message is the promise that he’ll have the control he’s been seeking (a 25% stake) and that it will be worth his time.” ## Musk demands control Musk has made clear control of Tesla is vitally important to him. He said in a post on X in January 2024 that [he needs to control at least 25%](https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/16/tech/elon-musk-tesla-pay-package/index.html) of Tesla shares. “I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned,” Musk wrote in a [post on X](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1746999488252703098). “Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.” That need for control is what’s behind this pay package, said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, an investment firm and one of the early investors in Tesla. “This is all about Musk being scared about being kicked out of Tesla because he only owns 13%,” said Gerber, who has sold almost his entire stake in Tesla. Munster and other Tesla bulls believe he’s right that AI, autonomous vehicles, robotaxis and humanoid robots are the future that will lift Tesla to the \$8.5 billion target price, and adjusted operating profits of \$400 billion that would be 20 times greater than Tesla’s previous record profit. “We are still just scratching the surface of physical AI: current use cases are almost comical, limited to nascent robotaxi trials by Waymo and Tesla,” Munster wrote Friday. “Eventually, physical AI will impact anything that moves, representing a market potential that’s hard for me to fathom.” But critics of Musk and Tesla predict that Musk will fail to deliver on that potential, just as he failed to meet many previous target dates for the company to produce full self-driving vehicles and robotaxis. They say that Musk’s real value to Tesla is his ability to convince Wall Street of the bright future that lays ahead, despite a trail of broken promises. “Elon Musk has been saying since 2014 ‘we will have a fully autonomous car next year.’ It hasn’t happened, but that promise has been valued in the billions by Wall Street,” said analyst Gordon Johnson, one of the harsher critics of Tesla. “Elon Musk is a master manipulator. He’s been able to keep the stock elevated. The reason the board is paying him is he’s willing to say things that other CEOs aren’t willing to say or get away with.” Despite that track record, there’s a good chance that Tesla investors will approve the potentially massive pay package. They have regularly approved his pay packages in the past, even reconfirming a pay package in 2024 that a Delaware judge had thrown out as being unfair to shareholders and the company. They will see that Musk won’t get anything from this new package unless the company, and their own holdings, greatly increase in value. The first target that Musk and Tesla will have to hit before he sees any shares will be \$2 trillion, or nearly twice its current value. “They’ll think ‘I kind of having nothing to lose,’” Gerber said. He said their thinking will be along the lines of: “The goals are so high that if he makes them, I’ll make a lot of money. So who cares if he gets \$1 trillion.” “But if you actually think about it, it’s absurd,” he said.
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