November 7, 2025 — 6.21am Save Bloomberg If he falls short of the biggest goals, though, the package could still hand him plenty of money. Musk will get $US50 billion in additional Tesla shares, for example, if he increases the company’s market value by 80 per cent, something he did just this past year, as well as doubling vehicle sales and tripling operating earnings — or hitting any other two of a dozen operational targets. Musk vs. Rockefeller Musk is already the richest man in the world with a net worth of $US493 billion, according to Forbes magazine, and well ahead of some of the wealthiest of years past. ‘He frequently teeters on the edge of disaster...and then pulls back just in the nick of time.’ Tesla owner and money manager Nancy Tengler The steel giant, Andrew Carnegie, was once worth an inflation-adjusted $US300 billion, according to the Carnegie Corp., well below Musk’s wealth. Musk is still trailing John D. Rockefeller, but he’s closing in fast. The railroad titan hit peak inflation-adjusted wealth of $US630 billion in 1913, according to Guinness World Records. For his part, Musk says it’s not really about the money but about getting a higher Tesla stake — it will double to nearly 30 per cent — so he can control the company. He says that’s a pressing concern given Tesla’s future “robot army,” a reference to the company’s Optimus humanoid workers that he doesn’t trust anyone else to control. Split among shareholders Many investors have come out in support of the package, including Baron Capital Management, whose founder called Musk indispensable to the company. “Without his relentless drive and uncompromising standards,” wrote founder Ron Baron, “there would be no Tesla.” Critics include the biggest in the US public pension fund, Calpers, and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest. They argue the pay is excessive, with the Norway fund expressing concern that the board that designed it, which includes Musk’s brother, is not independent enough. That echoes a decision from a Delaware court nearly two years ago that blasted the process for approving a previous Musk pay package as “deeply flawed” given his “extensive ties” to directors. Even the Vatican has weighed in, decrying the wealth gap in the world and blasting the trillion-dollar offer in particular. Tesla sales continue to plunge, with new figures out Monday showing a stunning 50 per cent drop last month in Germany alone. Credit: