Tesla rewards CEO Elon Musk with whopping £625m payday
Elon Musk has been paid a whopping £625 million in one of the biggest paydays corporate America has ever seen.
The radical entrepreneur earnt the bonus after Tesla hit some targets, including the electric car maker recording £16.2 billion in revenue over the past year.
Tesla was also confirmed to have reached a market value of £81 billion on a 30-day and six-month average.
The payout is part of a generous package approved by the company’s board in 2018, one of the largest in US history.
Musk has chosen not to have a base salary with the company, instead opting for deeply discounted Tesla shares.
Musk, whose wealth is estimated at $39 billion, can now buy 1.69 million shares of Tesla for $350.02, compared to its most recent closing price of $805.81.
The payout was consolation for Musk after his SpaceX launch failed to launch this week.
His bid to send two astronauts to the International Space Station was cancelled as bad weather hampered efforts to get the rocket off the ground in a safe manner at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
Nearly 2 million people tuned in globally on Wednesday, including President Donald Trump.
But the launch was called off just 17 minutes before liftoff. Severe weather - including wind, rain, lightning and a tornado warning - rendered conditions unsuitable for takeoff, “violating” Nasa’s strict guide for manned crew missions.
The launch will now go ahead on Saturday.
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