Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Editorial
  • Harvard Business Review (website)

Elon Musk's Unusual Compensation Plan Isn't Really About Compensation at All

By: George Serafeim
  • Format:Electronic
ShareBar

Abstract

Earlier this year, Tesla shareholders approved likely the largest compensation package ever awarded to a CEO—for a CEO who clearly doesn’t need the money. Elon Musk is already incredibly rich and also doesn’t seem particularly motivated by further wealth. So why do it? In fact, the design of the compensation plan and its announcement were not about compensation at all. They were about signaling a credible commitment to Tesla’s purpose: to become a clean energy giant that helps address climate change by transforming mobility. To get there, Musk needs not only the normal sort of investor confidence, but also for investors to buy into his radical vision for the company.

Keywords

Tesla; Elon Musk; Innovation; Investor Communication; Investor Relations; Short-termism; Long-termism; Disruption; Executive Compensation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Communication Intention and Meaning; Mission and Purpose

Citation

Serafeim, George. "Elon Musk's Unusual Compensation Plan Isn't Really About Compensation at All." Harvard Business Review (website) (May 1, 2018).
  • Register to Read

About The Author

George Serafeim

Accounting and Management
→More Publications

More from the Author

    • January 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

    By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel and Stacy Straaberg
    • December 2024
    • Faculty Research

    Northvolt: Building Batteries to Fight Climate Change (B)

    By: George Serafeim, Debora L. Spar, Peter Tufano, Hugo Etchegoyhen and Emilie Billaud
    • 2024
    • Faculty Research

    Climate Solutions, Transition Risk, and Stock Returns

    By: Shirley Lu, Edward J. Riedl, Simon Xu and George Serafeim
More from the Author
  • Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel and Stacy Straaberg
  • Northvolt: Building Batteries to Fight Climate Change (B) By: George Serafeim, Debora L. Spar, Peter Tufano, Hugo Etchegoyhen and Emilie Billaud
  • Climate Solutions, Transition Risk, and Stock Returns By: Shirley Lu, Edward J. Riedl, Simon Xu and George Serafeim
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.