Elon Musk Does Weird Dance With Robot to Celebrate His $1 Trillion Tesla Deal

Elon Musk bounded onstage to dance with a humanoid robot after Tesla shareholders approved a record $1 trillion pay package for the world’s richest man at the company’s meeting in Texas.

Investors chanted “Elon! Elon!” as the company’s CEO, 54, made a cringeworthy attempt to mirror the moves of an Optimus unit, moments after more than 75 percent of votes backed the pay award.

“Other shareholder meetings are snoozefests, but ours are bangers… This is sick,” Musk, who would become the world’s first trillionaire, told the crowd in Austin. “I super appreciate it.”

Elon Musk does his cringe dance moves after the announcement of his $1T Tesla deal. — Elon Musk performs some cringeworthy dad dance moves after the announcement of his $1 trillion Tesla deal. X/@BLKMDL3

The package—billed as the largest in corporate history—could add up to 12 percent in stock awards, taking his stake to somewhere in the mid- to high 20s if the company smashes a suite of targets over the next decade.

The milestones include pushing market value to about $8.5 trillion and hitting targets for AI and robotics.

The electric car company has put its faith in Musk to deliver over the next decade. John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

The vote followed Tesla’s reincorporation in Texas after a Delaware judge voided an earlier, far smaller award.

Supporters said the windfall was a bet on Musk’s pivot from cars to an AI-and-robotics empire.

A Tesla Bot is showcased at the Tesla booth at the 8th CIIE in Shanghai, China, on November 6, 2025 — The Tesla booth at the eighth China International Import Expo in Shanghai, China, on Nov. 6. NurPhoto/Getty Images

The billionaire has called Tesla’s Optimus program an “infinite money glitch” and claimed the robots could “eliminate poverty,” performing everything from factory work to complex surgery.

But heavyweight investors pushed back. Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, which holds about 1 to 1.2 percent of Tesla, said before the vote that it would oppose the plan over its scale, potential dilution, and “key person risk.” CalPERS, which owns roughly 5 million shares in Tesla, also came out against it.

Elon Musk on stage, with the robot he danced with to his right. X/@BLKMDL3

But beyond Musk’s initial dance for joy, the road to the payout is brutal.

Separate reports say the performance hurdles include deploying vast fleets of robotaxis and humanoid robots, and delivering eye-watering earnings figures that dwarf the 2025 output.

The audience visited Tesla Cyber autonomous electric vehicle at the 8th CIIE in Shanghai, China on November 6, 2025. — A Tesla Cyber autonomous electric vehicle at the 8th CIIE in Shanghai, China on Nov. 6. CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

But Musk, who is trying to turn the company around after his support for President Donald Trump and government-slashing efforts with DOGE damaged sales, cast the moment as a reinvention.

“What we’re about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter of the future of Tesla, but a whole new book,” he told shareholders, who re-elected key directors and green-lit the pay plan despite governance warnings.

The meeting closed with Musk’s robot routine and a fresh promise of an AI-first Tesla even as the company faces cooling EV demand, Chinese competition, and regulatory scrutiny of its self-driving tech.

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