SpaceX’s board has approved a compensation plan that could deliver an enormous stock payout to Elon Musk if the company successfully establishes a permanent human settlement on Mars.

Under the arrangement, which was approved in January, Musk would receive 200 million super-voting restricted shares if several ambitious conditions are met: the Mars colony must be permanent, house at least one million people, and SpaceX must reach a $7.5 trillion valuation.

Details of the unusual incentive structure were disclosed in internal company documents tied to SpaceX’s confidential filing with the SEC ahead of a planned public offering, according to a report by Reuters, which reviewed the materials.

Musk, 54, has consistently promoted the idea of building a self-sustaining civilization on Mars, describing it as critical for humanity’s future. He has even been seen publicly wearing an “Occupy Mars” T-shirt. SpaceX itself notes on its website that creating such a colony would “require upwards of one million people and millions of tons of cargo to be delivered to the Red planet.”

The compensation plan does not set a deadline for achieving these goals, meaning Musk could qualify for the payout at any point as long as he remains CEO of SpaceX.

In addition to the Mars-related incentives, the plan includes another potential award of up to 60.4 million restricted shares scheduled for March 23. These shares are tied to unspecified valuation milestones and to progress on Musk’s concept of launching data centers into orbit to support his company’s artificial intelligence initiatives, Reuters reported.

Those additional shares would be distributed in stages depending on whether and when SpaceX meets its valuation targets.

If all of the outlined benchmarks are achieved, Musk’s already vast wealth could grow to unprecedented levels. His current net worth is estimated at $778 billion, according to Forbes.

In November, shareholders of Musk’s other company, Tesla, approved a separate record-setting $1 trillion compensation plan. Similar to the SpaceX structure, that package is tied to the company reaching certain valuation thresholds and production targets related to its vehicles and Optimus humanoid robots.

SpaceX is currently aiming for a valuation of $1.75 trillion in its anticipated initial public offering and is seeking to raise more than $50 billion, a move that could make it the largest IPO ever.

{Matzav.com}