SpaceX approved an Elon Musk pay package that could award him 200 million super-voting shares if the company reaches a $7.5 trillion valuation and builds a Mars colony. SpaceX disclosed the plan in its confidential registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which Reuters reviewed.
The award requires SpaceX to establish a permanent human colony on Mars with at least 1 million residents. The shares would be Class B stock, carrying 10 votes for each Class A share. A separate award could give Musk up to 60.4 million restricted shares if SpaceX meets valuation targets and operates space-based data centres with 100 terawatts of computing capacity.
Musk will receive no shares if the targets are missed. The plan has no fixed deadline beyond his continued employment, and Musk has received a nominal SpaceX salary of $54,080 a year since 2019. Reuters reported that SpaceX is targeting an initial public offering around June 28 that could value the rocket and satellite company at about $1.75 trillion.
Executive compensation expert Eric Hoffmann of Farient Advisors said he knew of no comparable pay package at another company, citing the unprecedented nature of goals linked to Mars colonisation and orbital computing.
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Equilar research director Courtney Yu said the targets stood out because most CEO pay plans use standard financial metrics such as revenue or earnings. The package could increase scrutiny of Musk’s time across SpaceX and Tesla, where shareholders have also approved large performance-based incentives tied to the electric vehicle maker’s value. SpaceX and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.
