Elon Musk to get paid only if Tesla meets market, operations goals

Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Tesla said Tuesday that its chief executive officer Elon Musk will only be paid if the company meets certain valuation and operation milestones.

The $59 billion company has set a series of targets that if met, could provide tens of billions of dollars in compensation to Musk.

"Elon will receive no guaranteed compensation of any kind-no salary, no cash bonuses, and no equity that vests simply by the passage of time," the company said in a statement.

Instead, the CEO will only be paid if all of its shareholders do "extraordinarily well."

According to the statement, the plan would deliver vested stock to Musk in increments as the company approaches $650 billion in market value. Beginning with $100 billion and ending with $650 billion, each time the company's market capitalization increases by $50 billion, Musk will be awarded shares.

At $650 billion, Tesla would be worth twice as much as Walmart and more than Facebook.

If all benchmarks are met, the CEO could own $55 billion in stock. The plan is conditional, only if Musk remains CEO or becomes executive chairman and chief product officer.