Musk to receive $29 billion in shares as Tesla seeks to keep CEO focused

Tesla’s board has approved a new $29 billion share award for CEO Elon Musk, following a contentious legal challenge that overturned his previous $56 billion compensation package. The decision comes as the company seeks to secure Musk’s continued focus on Tesla amid increasing investor concerns and political controversy.

According to a financial filing, Musk will purchase 96 million Tesla shares for $2 billion — the same share price outlined in his original 10-year pay package agreed in 2018. That deal, however, was rescinded in 2024 by a Delaware judge, throwing it into legal limbo pending an appeal, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The new award was based on a recommendation from a special committee of Tesla’s board and announced alongside a shareholder letter from committee members Robyn Denholm, Tesla’s chair, and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson.

“To recognise what Elon has accomplished and the extraordinary value he delivered to Tesla and our shareholders, we believe we must take action to honour the bargain that was struck in 2018,” the directors wrote. “After all, ‘a deal is a deal’.”

“From those communications, we know that one of your top concerns is keeping Elon’s energies focused on Tesla,” they wrote. “This award is a critical first step toward achieving that goal.”

In recent years, Musk has divided his attention between several ventures, including SpaceX, Neuralink, xAI, and social media platform X, raising shareholder concerns about his commitment to Tesla. He has also faced backlash for his political involvement and public support of Donald Trump, which has been linked to declining Tesla brand loyalty.

A survey from S&P Global Mobility found that Tesla’s customer loyalty dropped from 73% in June 2024 to just under 50% in March 2025, with only a modest recovery to 57.4% in May. Analyst Tom Libby called the decline “unprecedented.”

Musk’s new shares will raise his stake in Tesla from 13% to roughly 15%, reinforcing his control. If the 2018 compensation package is reinstated on appeal, the new award will be forfeited.

Despite a nearly 20% decline in Tesla shares this year, the news prompted a 3% jump in early trading. As Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities put it, “Musk remains Tesla’s big asset.”

By Vafa Guliyeva