Elon Musk can pocket another $32 billion of Tesla shares

The technology entrepreneur is now vested in stock options valued at that amount after the electric-car maker hit roughly half of the targets laid out by the board in his landmark 2018 compensation package, according to a securities disclosure filed late Friday.

Tesla made the grant of stock options on 101.3 million shares three years ago, when Tesla’s shares traded at around $70 on a split-adjusted basis.

In Friday’s securities filing, Tesla said the company had achieved six of 12 operating targets, and said two more were probable soon.

Tesla has also reached 11 of the pay package’s 12 market-capitalization targets, which started at $100 billion and were spaced at $50 billion intervals up to $650 billion, the company said.

Mr. Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, could still gain stock options on another roughly 40 million shares if Tesla continues to meet additional operating milestones, and the award could pay out in full if the company’s market capitalization also rises above $650 billion and stays there for six months.

His wealth is tied largely to his stake in the company, whose market capitalization surged as investors poured money into electric-vehicle makers.

As of 2020, the CEO had pledged more than 92 million of his 227 million Tesla shares to secure personal debts, up from 18.5 million a year earlier, according to a filing.

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