Tesla boss Elon Musk to scoop £26billion shares windfall

ELON Musk is in line to receive £26bn in Tesla share awards this year despite the electric car maker’s stock tumbling.

The world’s richest man (pictured) is set to secure five tranches of shares worth around £5.2bn each in the coming months, according to analysts. The awards are linked to a controversial pay package for the Tesla boss, who does not take a salary from the firm.

In 2018, the 50-year-old was given the opportunity to access 12 sets of 8.4m shares if the company hit a combination of market value, revenue and profitability milestones. He has already gained access to seven of these – with five remaining.

Musk is the world’s richest man according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a £178bn fortune. He is still Tesla’s biggest investor despite selling almost £12bn of shares in November and December to settle tax bills.

Tesla is the world’s most valuable car company having seen its shares skyrocket in 2020 and 2021. So far this year a rout among tech stocks on Wall Street has seen its value tumble by more than 23pc. ■ MICROSOFT beat analyst forecasts as its cloud services division was boosted by businesses switching to hybrid working during the latest Covid waves. Turnover hit £38bn in the second quarter to December 31, compared with £32bn in the same period of 2020, while profits rose by a fifth to £14bn.