Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package ignites the launch of a frenzy of memecoins

Memecoin trading activity increased on Thursday after Tesla board members approved a $1 trillion pay package for the firm’s CEO, Elon Musk. About half a dozen new tokens were launched and flooded decentralized exchanges on Solana, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and other blockchains within hours of shareholders approving the package.

DEXTools data showed the new tokens had names like TRILLIONS, Elon’s $1, and MUSK. According to the data, several versions of TRILLIONS/SOL rose by around 190% in 24 hours. The combined volume across the pairs also reached $20 million by Friday morning.

Some tokens show signs of a crypto exit scam

Some of the tokens surged in value before dropping to zero just minutes after going live, showing signs of a crypto rug pull. Exit scams are familiar patterns in the crypto industry, where major mainstream events involving prominent figures, such as Elon Musk, spill directly into memecoin markets.

The billionaire’s historic package trending news saw traders rushing to mint and trade tokens reflecting the moment. DEXTools data showed that some Solana tokens have already generated thousands of transactions in just a few hours.

Musk’s $1 trillion package was approved after more than 75% of the shares voted in favor despite some prominent investors criticizing the size of the compensation plan. Cryptopolitan previously reported that Norway’s sovereign wealth fund agreed to vote against the package on Tuesday, as did investment firms Glass Lewis and ISS.

“Tesla’s board members have asked shareholders to approve a long-term incentive package for Musk to retain and motivate the CEO to remain in his current leadership role with a new share package where he will only be paid if he attains extraordinary financial returns.”

-Dan Ives, Analyst at Wedbush Securities.

The deal might make him one of the world’s first trillionaires. Musk, with a net worth of more than $460 billion as of November, will receive as much as 423.7 million additional Tesla stock grants over the next decade once the firm hits certain milestones.

Musk is required to hit a market capitalization of $8.5 trillion for Tesla, or approximately six times its current market capitalization of $1.4 trillion. He is also required to ship 20 million vehicles and deliver 1 million of the car manufacturer’s humanoid Optimus robots.

Tesla’s shareholders also require Musk to bring the firm to $400 billion in actual earnings for four consecutive quarters. The electric car manufacturer reported $4.2 billion in actual earnings for the third quarter of 2025, down 9% from the year prior.

The full number of shares will be distributed in 12 equal blocks once Musk achieves a series of either operational or financial targets. For Tesla to reach the required market capitalization, its stock price would need to surge by more than 466% from its current level.

At the time of publication, Tesla’s stock price is trading at $446, down approximately 5% in the last 24 hours. However, the shares are up nearly 1.7% for the month.

Musk calls Optimus robots the future of Tesla

After Musk briefly danced on stage yesterday alongside Tesla’s Optimus robots, he described the robots as the future of the company and of humanity. Humanoid robots have not yet entered mass production, but the billionaire stated that they would be the biggest product of all time. Musk also suggested the robots could be used in everything from healthcare to prisons.

Tesla’s CEO previously claimed that the package deal is meant to help him gain more control over the company and exert strong influence over his robotics. Despite months of debate over Musk’s expanding influence across his companies, Tesla was allowed to invest in xAI. The initiative deepened Musk’s cross-company ecosystem, which overlaps with crypto and artificial intelligence.

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