Musk Has a Long Road Ahead to Earn His $2.6 Billion Tesla Grant

Tesla Inc.'s shareholders are betting that the largest pay deal in history will help propel the electric-car maker into the stratosphere.

A majority of investors who voted at Tesla’s March 21 special meeting supported the $2.6 billion performance award for Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, which outlines ambitions to become one of the world’s biggest companies. If the grant fully vests within a decade, it will yield Musk and his shareholders a fortune. If he falls short, he won’t receive anything--no salary or bonuses.

The lure of big stock-price gains, which go hand-in-hand with performance-based goals, appealed both to shareholders ...