Elon Musk’s deep pockets just got astonishingly deeper.
On Thursday, Tesla shareholders overwhelmingly approved his corporate pay package. The exact amount it is worth moves with the stock price. On Thursday afternoon the Associated Press calculated it as $44.9 billion. Musk could still face a drawn-out legal battle before his all-stock compensation deal becomes a reality, but more than 70 percent of the electric auto company’s shareholders voted in support of the record remuneration plan.
“Hot damn, I love you guys,” Musk unsurprisingly told attendees at Tesla’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas on Thursday. He later emphasized that his deal is company stock which he has to own for five years. “It’s not actually cash, and I can’t cut and run—nor would I want to.”
The total value of Musk’s pay package will therefore fluctuate in line with Tesla’s share price. But just for the hell of it, let’s assume Musk could convert it all, right now, into cold hard moolah and go on a spending spree of truly unfathomable proportions. What, exactly, could his $44.9 billion buy?
- 8.3 million nights on Richard Branson’s Necker Island. Assuming he avoids going for Christmas. Alternatively…
- 599 private islands of his own. That’s presuming they’re all similarly priced to this one currently available in Key Largo.
- 230 unspeakably luxurious Manhattan penthouses. A triplex apartment suitably dubbed “The One Above All Else” is going for the bargain price of $195 million, meaning Musk would have enough for a whole portfolio of wildly exclusive city real estate if private islands aren’t his thing.
- 90 Jeff Bezos superyachts. Musk’s space race rival’s 417-foot, triple-masted boat cost a reported $500 million to build. At that price, Musk could have his own armada of replicas, which presumably make him happy—by seriously annoying Bezos.
- 3 state-of-the-art aircraft carriers. The USS Gerald R. Ford is the world’s largest (100,000 tons) and most expensive ($13 billion) aircraft carrier, which comes complete with an electromagnetic catapult system from which Musk could launch his private jets. Speaking of which…
- 449 Trump-style planes (Donald’s version). The former president claims he paid $100 million for his personal Boeing 757. Musk could therefore snap up so many he might even be tempted to launch his own X Airways.
- 93,000 jetpacks. Because when you’ve already appeared in an Iron Man movie, you know flying in a fuselage is for suckers. Musk could get a jet suit for himself and one for every person in Chino, California.
- 736,000 Cybertrucks. That’s if he goes for the cheapest model. If he went for the more powerful Cyberbeast version, his garage would only need room for a more modest 449,000 trucks.
- 1.4 billion 24-packs of caffeine-free Diet Coke. If his bedside table is anything to go by, he’s a big fan of the beverage—but not coasters.
- 1.3 billion copies of Walter Isaacson’s 2023 biography, Elon Musk. Just in case he ever needs one or two reminders of his journey to his mind-blowing fortune.
