April 28, 2026, 2:57 p.m. ET SpaceX’s board of directors has reportedly approved a pay package that would give Elon Musk a massive payday if the company succeeds in establishing a human colony on Mars. The pay package, which received approval in January, would grant Musk a whopping 200 million super-voting restricted shares of stock – as long as the colony is permanent, has at least one million residents, and SpaceX has hit a market valuation of $7.5 trillion. The longshot incentives were detailed in SpaceX paperwork as part of the company’s confidential filing with the SEC to go public, according to Reuters, which has reviewed the documents. Musk, 54, had long touted a Mars colony as essential to humanity’s long-term survival and has been photographed wearing an “Occupy Mars” T-shirt on more than one occasion. SpaceX’s website acknowledges that a self-sufficient colony would “require upwards of one million people and millions of tons of cargo to be delivered to the Red planet.” The goals are not locked to a specific timeframe – meaning Musk is eligible to receive the reward at any time so long as he remains CEO of SpaceX. Elon Musk is photographed at SpaceX in Brownsville, Texas. The Washington Post via Getty Images Explore More