Elon Musk, the first trillionaire?
Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2025 6:47 pm
So investors investing with Musk's companies are giving Musk an incentive to produce more profit. They say they will make Musk a trillionaire by giving him monetary benefits if he increases the wealth of his companies above a certain level (or maybe it's just Tesla, I'm not 100% sure of all the details).
My questions are:
1) how badly will Musk seek those benefits? Will he do the unethical in order to achieve the profit his investors are seeking? Maybe look the other way while his subordinates cut corners to increase profits for him (at least until the scandals are publicly exposed, at which point Musk can say "shame on you for breaking the law" and then fire his subordinates at that point)?
And
2) Does any single human being on Earth bring that kind of value to a business? If a trillion in benefits are rewarded to Musk, then what will be the benefits that ordinary workers at Tesla will receive for dutifully carrying out Musk's wishes to achieve that goal for him? Are most of the other workers at Tesla only worth a few million or hundred thousand (or less)? Do ordinary rank and file workers not contribute to the wealth of a company?
I've worked for major corporations and have seen those very behaviors among CEOs. It's how exceptionally successful businesses become exceptionally more successful than other similar businesses around them. First one to squeeze a few unethical profits into a company (that other companies don't do) wins monopoly power. It's a real problem.
My questions are:
1) how badly will Musk seek those benefits? Will he do the unethical in order to achieve the profit his investors are seeking? Maybe look the other way while his subordinates cut corners to increase profits for him (at least until the scandals are publicly exposed, at which point Musk can say "shame on you for breaking the law" and then fire his subordinates at that point)?
And
2) Does any single human being on Earth bring that kind of value to a business? If a trillion in benefits are rewarded to Musk, then what will be the benefits that ordinary workers at Tesla will receive for dutifully carrying out Musk's wishes to achieve that goal for him? Are most of the other workers at Tesla only worth a few million or hundred thousand (or less)? Do ordinary rank and file workers not contribute to the wealth of a company?
I've worked for major corporations and have seen those very behaviors among CEOs. It's how exceptionally successful businesses become exceptionally more successful than other similar businesses around them. First one to squeeze a few unethical profits into a company (that other companies don't do) wins monopoly power. It's a real problem.
)
