TSLA: Tesla Stock Powers Up as Musk Says $1 Trillion Pay Ain’t the Goal – It’s the Work

Above a certain point, does it even matter? Musk said it’s not about compensation, but about making sure robots don’t destroy humanity. Kind of.

🚗 Musk Speaks, Tesla Gains

• Tesla stock TSLA surged 4% Wednesday, closing at $442.79. That’s about $50 shy of their record high. The stock has been the star of the Magnificent 7 in September, gaining 33% as Elon Musk seems to be channeling more focus back into the EV maker.
• Musk’s potential $1 trillion pay package has become the lightning rod for investor debate. The board pitched it as a way to keep the CEO locked in, but the market is also weighing whether it’s a necessary carrot or just another Musk-sized spectacle.
• If approved, the package would deliver Musk about 425 million stock options, nearly 12% of Tesla’s outstanding shares, if Tesla hits an eye-watering $8.5 trillion valuation. That would translate into $2,700 per share, assuming no stock splits.

🤖 It’s Not About the Money

• Musk took to X on Tuesday to clarify: the pay package isn’t about compensation but about “influence.” Translation: He wants enough control over Tesla to steer its robot ambitions without worrying about activist advisory firms booting him later.
• “If I can just get kicked out in the future by activist shareholder advisory firms who don’t even own Tesla shares themselves, I’m not comfortable with that future,” Musk wrote. Subtle? No. But effective? Definitely sparked chatter.
• He also hinted at the bigger picture – Tesla as a robotics and AI giant. For Musk, the cash is secondary. The real currency is control, especially if millions of robots are coming off Tesla’s assembly lines in the next decade.

📊 Best and Worst of the Mag 7

• Tesla’s solid September gain makes it the best-performing Mag 7 member, flexing the kind of momentum that makes shorts sweat. Musk’s refocus and investor faith in Tesla’s long-term story have created a bullish feedback loop.
• Meanwhile, Amazon AMZN is on the other end of the leaderboard. Jeff Bezos’ e-commerce and cloud computing empire has slipped more than 3% this month, making it the worst-performing of the Mag 7. Is a turnaround in the works?
• The spread between Tesla’s rally and Amazon’s slump underscores how even the mega-cap elite can diverge sharply when narratives shift. The Tesla story right now is simple: Musk is here, the stock’s pumping, and the robots are coming.