Tesla's Board approved a special interim equity award for Elon Musk to compensate and retain him for "extraordinary work". 

"As you know, Elon has not received meaningful compensation for eight years since the 2012 CEO Performance Award was last earned in 2017," Robyn Denholm & Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, Members of the Special Committee of the Board of Directors, wrote in a letter to shareholders on Monday morning. 

The Board continued, "Despite overwhelming support from you in 2018 and again in 2024, our legal efforts continue in the Delaware courts to reinstate the 2018 CEO Performance Award." 

The equity award of restricted stock, totaling 96 million shares, is equal to about one-third of the compensation he earned under the 2018 CEO Performance Award. 

The award provides the following conditions:

Tesla is at a critical inflection point with slumping sales and Musk pivoting the company to focus on robotaxis, cheaper EV platforms, humanoid robots, and AI. 

"While we recognize that Elon's business ventures, interests and other potential demands on his time and attention are extensive and wide-ranging, including his leadership roles at xAI, SpaceX, Neuralink, X Corp., and The Boring Company as well as his other interests, we are confident that this award will incentivize Elon to remain at Tesla and focus his unmatched leadership abilities on further creating shareholder value for Tesla shareholders and attracting and retaining talent at Tesla," the Board said. 

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