SpaceX Ties Musk’s Pay Package to Mars Colony and Space-Based Computing

Founded by Musk in 2002, SpaceX operates rocket, Starlink satellite internet and crewed spaceflight businesses, with the long-term goal of enabling humans to settle on Mars. The package ties the founder’s compensation, in the form of super-voting shares, to the company’s valuation, a million-person colony on Mars and space-based AI computing capacity. It has also raised concerns that SpaceX and Tesla are competing for Musk’s attention.

Reuters reported on April 28, citing a SpaceX filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, that the board approved the package in January 2026. Musk would receive 200 million restricted Class B shares if the company reaches a market value of $7.5 trillion and establishes a permanent Mars colony of at least 1 million people. A separate award of up to 60.4 million shares was granted on March 23, contingent on other valuation thresholds and the operation of off-Earth data centers capable of providing 100 terawatts of computing power annually.