Tesla shareholders’ meeting in Austin this past week was a tad cheerful. Instead of a boring corporate meeting, it was more like a New Year’s Eve party that had Elon Musk spring onto the stage while being cheered by the audience.
But he wasn’t alone on stage: standing next to him was a blue humanoid robot named Optimus, dancing to the music. The purpose of the celebration was the shareholders’ approval of a potentially historic compensation package for Musk: no less than $1 trillion. In the entrepreneur’s words, Tesla will not be turning a new page, but rather starting a whole new book. This figure is a bet conditional on the achievement of a series of goals. If he manages to transform Tesla from a car manufacturer into a leader in artificial intelligence and robotics, he will get that succulent billion dollars. After all, there is nothing more effective than the right incentives, right?
The first trillionaire in the world
The figure has just too many zeros: $1,000,000,000,000. But before we rejoice for Elon Musk—or become indignant about this accumulation of capital—we must bear in mind that this would not be an immediate salary or bonus. Shareholders are not going to be given such a large sum just because he is attractive. These are stock options that will be distributed in 12 tranches or milestones over the next decade. To unlock each tranche, Tesla must meet extraordinary performance and market valuation conditions. It is not easy for Tesla to reach a market capitalization of up to $8.5 trillion.
It should also be noted that the approval was not entirely unanimous, as the proposal generated deep controversy. The final approval was backed by more than 75% of shareholders, but it did not sit well with large institutional funds and corporate advisors, who considered it excessive. Musk defended the need to be able to control a larger voting stake, saying that without it he would feel uncomfortable leading Tesla’s next phase.
Optimus, the next asset
Optimus, also known as Tesla bot, is a general-purpose humanoid robot (GPR). It is designed to be bipedal, and its limbs mimic human form and function. Unlike industrial robots, which are fixed and programmed for a single task, Optimus is designed to be autonomous and adaptable. Due to its human-like size, it can easily navigate environments built by and for humans, such as factories, homes, or offices. If you’ve ever been bored washing dishes and dreamed of having a robot do it for you, know that you’re getting closer and closer to that robotic fantasy.
The purpose of the Optimus robot is to replace human labor that performs tasks that are inherently dangerous, repetitive—like washing the damn dishes—or boring. Elon Musk is going there in his social vision; the entrepreneur claims that large-scale production of Optimus could help automate most work, drastically reduce the cost of goods, and eradicate poverty in the world. (Billionaires sure are optimistic about single-handedly solving world problems, aren’t they?) The robot was unveiled in 2021, although it took until the following year to show the first functional prototype, which walked a few steps at AI Day 2022.
Little by little, they improved it: in the second generation—unveiled in December 2023—this optimal robot walked 30% faster (they probably took notes on the “hot girl walks” posted on Instagram). It also has new hands with touch detection, allowing it to perform fine motor tasks. Unlike a clumsy teenager, the Optimus robot is capable of handling an egg without breaking it.
For now, one of the crucial things for him to receive such a succulent compensation is to manage to manufacture 1 million Optimus robots. According to Elon Musk, Tesla was already the world’s largest robot manufacturer, only they had wheels – referring to their Tesla vehicles. Now, they will simply move on to manufacturing robots with “arms and legs” that will take the company to a new dimension.
Hopefully, everyone’s dreams will come true: Elon Musk will get his $1 billion compensation package… And hopefully, we will be able to buy an Optimus to wash the dishes and dust the house for us.
