Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Elon Musk is now the fourth-richest person in the world. He's about to get even richer

Elon Musk is now the fourth-richest person in the world. He's about to get even richer

Elon Musk is now the fourth-richest person in the world. He's about to get even richer
The Tesla CEO takes no regular salary, but in 2018 shareholders approved a pay package that could eventually give him 20.3 million stock options, paid in 12 equal tranches, potentially making him the richest person in the world. Thanks to the tremendous run-up in Tesla shares, Musk has qualified for two blocks of options, which on paper are worth about $2.8 billion each after he pays the exercise price.

Now he's weeks away from qualifying for the third tranche of options, worth an additional $2.8 billion.

Musk will be awarded the options as the company hits a series of targets both for financial results and market value. One of the two milestones that must be hit for those options to be exercised is that Tesla (TSLA) shares, which were valued at $372 billion at Monday's close, must maintain a $200 billion average market value over the prior six months, a target it hit over the course of the last five months.

So even if Tesla shares lose nearly half their current value over the next month, they'd still have a six-month average of $200 billion or greater.

The other milestone is based upon Tesla's revenue or profit performance. And if analysts' forecasts are right, Tesla should be able to do that in the current quarter.

The measure of profits used to judge success must be $4.5 billion over a 12-month period. The company nearly reached that over the 12 months ending in June, when it earned $4.4 billion. Its third-quarter forecast is for earnings of $1.4 billion, up about a third from what it earned on that basis a year ago.

If he does get the options, Musk won't actually own the shares. He has yet to exercise any of the options he received this year or most of what he was awarded in prior years (He did not not receive any options in 2018 or 2019.) Typically, options are exercised only when the investor holding them is ready to sell the shares, or if they are due to expire.

No matter how many options Musk gets this year, they will be only a fraction of his current Tesla stockholdings.

He owns 34 million shares of the stock, a stake equal to about 18% of the company, which is valued $68 billion.

Musk qualified in May for the first tranche of options under his current pay package. At that time the options were worth about $770 million. He qualified for the second earlier this month when the company's stock price lifted the value of that block of options to $2.1 billion.

As the stock continues to rise, so does the potential value of the options, which is why the two earlier blocks of options are now worth a total of $5.6 billion, while the next block would be worth $2.8 billion, at current prices.

Tesla is about to execute a five-for-one stock split. Although that split will change the total number of shares and options held and outstanding, it won't change the value of Musk's holdings.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
×