Elon Musk's Salary at SpaceX Linked to 1 Million Mars Residents Target

Elon Musk is once again making conventional corporate standards look ordinary. (photo: x @WoodsDarle82534)

JAKARTA - Elon Musk has once again made conventional corporate standards look ordinary. In company documents reviewed by Reuters, SpaceX's board of directors approved a new compensation package for Musk whose value depends on achieving space targets - including permanent colonization of Mars with at least 1 million people.

Yes, not the quarterly revenue target. Not the profit margin. But one million people living on Mars. The scheme says Musk will receive 200 million shares of restricted stock with super voting rights if SpaceX reaches a valuation of 7.5 trillion US dollars and meets certain extraterrestrial goals.

One of its main goals is to build a permanent colony on Mars with a minimum population of one million.

The shares granted are Class B shares with 10 votes per share, which means this package not only enriches Musk, but also strengthens his control over the company.

In addition, there are another 60.4 million shares associated with the operation of a space data center with a computing capacity of 100 terawatt. As an illustration, it is equivalent to 100,000 nuclear reactors with a capacity of one gigawatt running simultaneously.

If the targets are not achieved? Musk does not get any shares and only receives an annual salary of 54,080 US dollars. The nominal sounds like the salary of an average Silicon Valley staff - the difference is, this is for the richest person in the world.

Ahead of SpaceX's IPO

The announcement comes as SpaceX reportedly targets an initial public offering (IPO) around June 28, 2026 with an initial valuation of around $1.75 trillion. If achieved, the IPO will be one of the largest in the history of technology and the space industry.

Interestingly, the report also highlights the indirect internal competition between SpaceX and Tesla in competing for Musk's focus. Tesla has also previously pushed for an aggressive compensation package to keep Musk prioritizing the electric vehicle business.

Now SpaceX is responding with a Mars colonization-based incentive - as if to say: "If you want shares, build an interplanetary civilization."

Corporate World Skepticism

This approach has attracted widespread attention because it uses a very unusual non-financial metric. Executive compensation expert from Farient Advisors, Eric Hoffmann, assessed that this kind of target is difficult to measure objectively.

According to him, the standard of success is not something that has ever been done in human history, so there is no clear benchmark. That is what makes this package more like a technology manifesto than a regular business contract.

But for Musk, it is in line with the narrative he has been building: that business is not just about profit, but about expanding the sustainability of human civilization.

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