While other automakers are rolling out new EVs, Tesla has turned its focus to building robotaxis and humanoid robots, delaying and cancelling plans for cheaper electric vehicle models.
Much of Tesla's trillion-dollar valuation hangs on that bet. The company's board on Friday proposed an unprecedented $1 trillion pay package for Musk that, apart from other operational milestones, is pegged to Tesla's value rising to $8.5 trillion over the next decade. For now, Tesla's core auto business remains its money maker. Its last new model was the Cybertruck pickup that rolled out in 2023 with nothing of the success of its Model 3 midsize sedan or Model Y midsize SUV. Tesla has refreshed the Model Y, once the world's best-selling car, but the changes failed to live up to expectations, and Tesla is on track toward a second year of sales decline.