Elon Musk Qualifies For $700M In Stock Options As Tesla Tops $100B Market Cap Average

Tesla Inc. TSLA stock has risen enough in recent months to qualify CEO Elon Musk for the first lump sum payment under his stock compensation program, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Tesla Meets Performance Goals

The Palo Alto-based company's average trailing market capitalization over six months surpassed $100 billion at the day's close, according to the data compiled by Bloomberg. 

This was one of the provisions under a 2018 agreement made by the Tesla board of directors.

The other conditions for the first of Musk's 12 stock option tranches to be unlocked included the electric vehicles maker hitting an average trailing market cap of $100 billion over 30 days; and grossing $20 billion in revenue and recording adjusted EBITDA of $1.5 billion in the preceding quarter.

These performance goals have already been met, Bloomberg said. That means Musk is now eligible to unlock 1.69 million stock options at $350.02 per share. These are valued at about $706.7 million at Tesla's Tuesday closing price.

Musk's next vesting period will end when Tesla averages $150 billion in market cap over six months and meets other conditions. 

Milestone Follows Musk's Twitter Outburst

Musk has become eligible for the tranche even as one of a series of erratic tweets Friday sent the company's shares down by 11%.

The company beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter earnings late last month.

Musk has been critical of the widespread lockdowns enacted in the U.S. to curb the spread of the coronavirus, resulting in the shutdown of the company's manufacturing operations. 

"FREE AMERICA NOW," he tweeted last week, asking for an end to the lockdown with precautionary measures in place.

The 48-year old also announced the birth of a baby with girlfriend Grimes Monday.

TSLA Price Action

Tesla's shares closed 0.92% higher at $768.21 on Tuesday and added another 0.82% in the after-hours session at $774.50.

Photo courtesy of Tesla.