SpaceX Musk’s 200 million-share compensation plan exposed! Only by sending a million people to colonize Mars can you cash it out

SpaceX’s confidential IPO filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was recently leaked, revealing details of founder Elon Musk’s compensation plan, which directly links the founder’s pay to Mars colonization and a space data center. As long as the company’s market capitalization exceeds 7.5 trillion and it establishes a permanent human settlement on Mars capable of housing at least 1 million people, it will receive 200 million shares of super-voting rights restricted stock.

SpaceX board approves Musk’s wildly over-the-top compensation plan

Reuters exposed on Wednesday a confidential IPO filing that SpaceX submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), revealing a compensation plan worthy of a science-fiction storyline.

According to the documents, the SpaceX board officially approved this compensation package for founder Elon Musk (Elon Musk) in January of this year. The core requirements include two forward-looking goals: first, the company’s market capitalization surpasses 7.5 trillion; second, on Mars it builds a permanent human colony for at least 1 million people.

If both targets are met, Musk will receive 200 million shares of Class B super-voting rights restricted stock (B , with each share carrying 10 times the voting power of common shares).

Two incentive mechanisms: Mars colonization plus a space data center

In addition to the Mars colonization plan, SpaceX has another set of independent incentive mechanisms called a “space data center.” According to the filing, Musk can be granted up to 60.4 million shares of restricted stock, provided that the company operates in space and provides at least 100 terawatts (terawatt) of computing power via a data center—equivalent to the electricity generation capacity of 100,000 1 GW nuclear power plants running at full power at the same time.

These shares were completed as of March 23, and they also use the Class B super-voting share structure, gradually unlocking as the company’s valuation grows. However, if SpaceX fails to meet the valuation threshold set by the board, Musk will not receive even a single share.

The compensation plan will not set a specific deadline; it only requires Musk to remain employed. It is reported that since 2019, his annual salary at SpaceX has been only $54,080.

SpaceX IPO is imminent, and Tesla’s compensation plan follows

SpaceX is currently actively preparing for an initial public offering (IPO), with the expected listing timing in the second half of this year. The company’s target valuation is about 1.75 trillion. By the end of December 2025, Musk also holds 68.8 million shares of Class B stock options, with an exercise price of about $42 and an expiration date in 2031.

Musk’s personal net worth currently stands at about $7.76 billion, and if Tesla (Tesla)’s separate compensation plan also achieves its targets at the same time, the size of his wealth could double again—he currently holds about 20% of Tesla shares.

(Tesla registers 300 million shares of equity; Musk’s stake rebounds to 20%, adding another $100k to the fortunes of the world’s richest person)

Compensation experts worry: SpaceX and Tesla are competing for Musk’s attention

In response, corporate compensation expert and data director at Farient Advisors, Eric Hoffmann, said bluntly that he has never seen this kind of compensation design, making it impossible to assess how difficult it is. He also pointed out a governance concern: last autumn, Tesla’s board advanced a high-pay compensation plan in order to “keep Musk,” and Musk even threatened that he would consider leaving if shareholders rejected it; now SpaceX has rolled out incentives with the same kind of force, and the two companies have effectively fallen into a competition for Musk’s attention.

Equilar’s director of research, Courtney Yu, also noted that using non-financial indicators such as “Mars colonization” as the basis for CEO compensation is unprecedented in the industry. However, he added that while the 7.5 trillion market capitalization target may seem far off, it helps investors understand where the company’s strategic vision lies.

This article, “SpaceX Musk’s 200-million-share compensation plan exposed! Only by sending millions of people to Mars for colonization can it be cashed in,” was first published on Lian News ABMedia.