Musk on course to be history's very first trillionaire

THE world’s richest man has been handed a chance to become history’s first trillionaire.

- BERNARD CONDON

Elon Musk won a shareholder vote on Thursday that would give the Tesla CEO stock worth $1tn (£760bn) if he hits certain performance targets over the next decade.

The vote followed weeks of debate over his management record at the electric car maker and whether anyone deserved such unprecedented pay, drawing heated commentary from small investors to giant pension funds and even the pope.

In the end, more than 75% of voters approved the plan as shareholders gathered in Austin, Texas.

“Fantastic group of shareholders,’ Mr Musk said after the final vote was tallied, adding “Hang on to your Tesla stock”.

The vote is a victory for Mr Musk, showing investors still have faith in him as Tesla struggles with plunging sales, market share and profits in no small part due to himself.

Car buyers fled the company this year as he has ventured into politics both in the US and Europe, and trafficked in conspiracy theories.

The vote came just three days after a report from Europe showing Tesla sales plunged again last month, including a 50% collapse in Germany.