Washington, Nov 7 (EFE). — Tesla's board of directors has approved paying the company's CEO, Elon Musk, a record sum of $1 trillion in stock, which would allow him to control the electric car maker and make him the world's first trillionaire. The proposal was approved by more than 75% of shareholders, despite opposition from some major institutional shareholders. Tesla's board of directors, which has been accused in the past of a lack of independence, allowed Musk, who currently controls 15% of the shares, to vote on the proposal. In recent days, Tesla's management has run a campaign in support of Musk, and board chair Robyn Denholm warned shareholders that Musk might leave the company if he was not granted the $1 billion in stock. The approved proposal compensates Musk for each of the 12 goals, which will collectively involve the granting of stock options currently valued at $1 trillion. If all goals are met, Musk would own more than 25% of the company's shares, giving him the power to control it. The businessman himself stated on October 22 that he needed control of the company to build a 'giant robot army' with the humanoid robot Optimus. 'I don't feel comfortable building that army of robots if I don't have at least a strong influence,' he explained. Right after the announcement of the historic compensation's approval, Musk appeared on the stage set up at Tesla's headquarters in Austin (USA), to the cheers of 'Elon, Elon' from the attendees, accompanied by an Optimus robot dancing to the beat of the music. Musk, after thanking the board of directors for approving his compensation, said that Tesla will begin 'not a new chapter but a new book' with Optimus. The entrepreneur announced that it will be 'the biggest product in history,' surpassing mobile phones, and announced that an assembly line will be set up at the car plant in Fremont, California, to produce 1 million Optimus units per year, and another in Austin with a capacity of 10 million units. Although Optimus is still in development and has no real application, Musk said he expects there will be billions of units in the future capable of eradicating poverty in the world. The businessman also stated that Tesla is the only company prepared to achieve these goals. 'Tesla is already the world's largest robot maker because every vehicle is a robot,' he said to add that 'Optimus is a robot with arms and legs instead of a robot with wheels'.
