Musk’s Pay Explained: Why His Trillion-Dollar Package Isn’t What You Think

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Chris Markowski breaks down the truth behind Elon Musk’s massive Tesla pay package — and why the media’s outrage misses the mark. Far from a trillion-dollar cash grab, Musk’s compensation depends on hitting tough performance milestones that could transform technology, space travel, and global connectivity. From Tesla to SpaceX to Starlink, Markowski argues that if Musk meets his goals, everyone benefits — and that’s a story worth understanding, not distorting.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact it we'll have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Musk gets paid. We pride ourselves here on this program
actually breaking down the headlines where the media they don't
want to be bothered. They just want to get you,
do them. They want to get you angry. Now, I've
talked about this before. I don't like the way we
pay executives in this country. I don't. I don't like it.

(00:39):
I think it's a change anyway. Elon Musk obviously controversial
figure since he decided to saddle up with Donald Trump
and actually try to save we the people some money.
I never got my arms around that. It was a
freaking awful thing that the left did to the guy.
Take a look at the things that he is building

(01:01):
and creating, and it's extraordinary. He's an extraordinary human being.
I mean, I take a look at what he's doing
with neurolink and being able to maybe someday help people
to walk again who are paralyzed, people who are deaf,
to hear and see, did you understand how amazing that is?

(01:23):
And again they go after him. But anyway, neither here
north there. I want to discuss his pay package, because
all you see in the media is us get he's
getting paid a trillion dollars, trillion dollars pay package, trullion
dollar pay package, and most of the masses out there
and a grand you know, fifty percent of the country
basically sixth grade reading level. That's just the reality. They

(01:45):
hear that, and they see that, and it's like your
tortures at your pitchforks tis from billionaires. And again politicians
play into it too, because they're not they're not really
interested in in honesty. Okay, again, they're just going to
get people going and looking divide one another. Let's talk
about Elon's pay package. It's stock, it's a it's a

(02:10):
trillion dollars and additional stock. If if he makes he's
not getting paid a trillion dollars cash. He's not going
to be Scrooge McDuck. Okay, he's getting stock in the
company that he founded. Now again, I'm granted, Okay, I
think all executives should get paid just like everybody else.

(02:31):
I do. Okay, I think any stock awards, I've said
this before, I should go to the workers. But in
order for him to get it's like it's I think
it's not. It's not. It's like nine hundred billion dollars
in additional Tesla stock. He has to meet certain bench marks.
It's there's twelve different trunches, okay, that he has to get.

(02:57):
And you know, I have to meet certain benchmarks to
million in market capitalization fifty billion and earnings before interest
taxes iba DAH, twenty million cars delivered, one million robo
taxis in operation, one million robots sold, ten million full

(03:17):
self driving subscriptions. He has to hit all of these
things along the way if he's going to get any
of that stock. You know. The funny thing is, okay,
honny thing is is the last pay package that he got.
I can't remember what year was. It was the same
type of controversy. They had all sorts of benchmarks that

(03:37):
were put in there as well, and everybody's like, there's
no way, there's no way he's gonna get all that's
not gonna happen. He hit him, and what's a stock
up eighteen hundred percent since that point in time something
like that. He hit him. Now again it's stock and

(03:59):
the guys sleeps on the freaking floor of his own wares.
He's not going around, you know, buy and by he's working,
he doesn't. This guy never do a damn. I mean,
think about the type of money that he still wants
to work motified, and again this might get to him.
This is a motivational thing. I guess he's like, you know,

(04:21):
I'm you know, I gotta get something for it. Again,
I wish it was cash. I wish it was cash.
I wish that's how these executives were paid, you know,
like everybody else. But it's not. And if there was
a CEO in this country that deserves a hell of
a pay package, I'd say it's him. I don't own
in his cars, I don't own his solo. I don't.

(04:45):
But you watch a watch a space X launch, okay,
watch a Space Excellence, watch something, and you're just like,
what h I even forgot about you know, starlink and
what he's doing there. I mean he could end up technically,
I mean, he could end up crushing you know, everybody

(05:08):
else with this Starlink thing and how it's set up
and it's getting faster and faster and faster. I've used
it at hotels than like the Greek Islands and stuff
like that. It's on airplanes now, and people like you
have no idea how great it is. Then each and
every one of us should hope that he hits his benchmarks.

(05:31):
Elon Musk hits his benchmarks. Okay, the world's a better place.
It's just the reality watchdog and Wall Street dot Com