Elon Musk’s newly reinstated pay package, potentially worth up to $1 trillion over the next decade, underscores the dramatic rise in CEO compensation. His original 2018 equity award—now valued at over $130 billion—was reinstated in December, and his recent package relies entirely on stock awards tied to market‐cap and operational milestones. Over the past 50 years, top chief executive pay has surged 1,094% while typical worker pay has climbed just 26%, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Median total compensation for S&P 500 CEOs reached $17.1 million in 2024, up nearly 10% from the prior year, with stock awards representing 72% of pay. Critics question the link between pay and performance; a 2021 MSCI study found only a weak correlation between CEO rewards and company returns.

Tesla has begun collecting data to teach its Optimus humanoid robots how to operate in its Austin Gigafactory, targeting a February start date. For more than a year, the company has trained prototypes in Fremont by having data collectors wear helmets and backpacks to record themselves organizing parts and working conveyor lines. That video footage is used to train robot movements without teleoperation suits. At a recent town hall, managers told factory workers they will begin data‐gathering exercises in Texas, positioning Austin as Optimus’s second major training site. CEO Musk has said robots now perform simple factory tasks and could tackle more complex work by year end.

On January 22, Tesla began operating Model Y robotaxis in Austin without in‐car safety drivers, marking the first commercial deployment of unsupervised rides. The vehicles remain followed by company cars for external monitoring, and run on an advanced version of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software. Musk has forecast broader robotaxi availability by year end and public sales of humanoid units by 2027. The move accelerates Tesla’s pivot from automaker to AI‐driven mobility provider and could pave the way for subscription revenues once regulatory approvals in key markets are secured.

Tesla recently removed its basic Autopilot driver‐assistance package in the U.S. and Canada, leaving only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as a standard feature and pushing customers toward its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software. Beginning February 14, FSD will no longer be offered for a one‐time fee but only via a monthly subscription. The change follows a regulatory ruling in California that deemed the Autopilot name misleading. Tesla executives and board members argue that subscription‐based licensing aligns CEO incentives with shareholder returns, while regulators and safety advocates warn that overreliance on software could outpace real-world readiness.