The board of directors of “SpaceX“ (SpaceX) has approved a compensation package for founder Elon Musk with goals that are as futuristic and cosmic as the company's ambitions: colonizing Mars and building data centers in space, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Details of Musk's massive compensation package became public knowledge thanks to a confidential document recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which Reuters has reviewed.
The high compensation that The offers SpaceX is offering Musk show the challenge of keeping the entrepreneur's attention as he prepares for his company's initial public offering. They could also lead to tensions with shareholders at Tesla, whose CEO Musk is, according to corporate governance experts.
Mixing science-fiction visions with accounting commitments, SpaceX's board of directors in January approved a compensation package for Musk that would give him 200 million shares of restricted voting stock if the company reaches a market capitalization of $7.5 trillion and establishes a permanent human colony on Mars with at least 1 million people, according to excerpts from the document.
The package also gives him up to 60.4 million restricted shares if SpaceX meets separate other performance goals. the company's market valuation and start operating data centers in space that provide at least 100 terawatts of computing power - requiring a huge amount of energy equivalent to about 100,000 1-gigawatt nuclear reactors.
Both packages refer to shares with “super voting“, each such share has 10 votes compared to 1 for a common share and is paid in stages according to the company's growth.
However, he will not receive a single share if the company does not meet the set market valuation goals, which are not tied to a specific deadline, except for the condition that he remains in the job. Since 2019, Musk has been receiving a symbolic salary of $ 54,080 per year.
The value of the package cannot be precisely determined, because “SpaceX“ is a private company that primarily aims to go public offering (around Musk's birthday - June 28), according to Reuters.
As of Dec. 31, he held 68.8 million previously granted Class B stock options with an exercise price (the fixed price at which you can buy the stock - editor's note) of about $42, valid until 2031.
Musk's fortune is already estimated at $776 billion, according to Forbes. In addition to SpaceX, he can significantly increase his fortune through Tesla, where he also has ambitious performance goals.
SpaceX and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
According to experts “SpaceX“ and “Tesla“ are effectively competing for Musk's attention, as both companies want him to be focused on them.
Analysts note that the use of targets like Mars or space data centers is highly unusual, as most compensation plans are based on financial metrics like revenue and profit.
Ultimately, they say, it helps set investors' expectations about what the company's real ambitions are.