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Elon Musk set to become world's first trillionaire

Elon Musk, already the world's wealthiest person, is set to become even wealthier. He is on course to become the planet's first dollar trillionaire. This is because of a new remuneration package approved by Tesla shareholders at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday. Seventy-five per cent of shareholder votes endorsed a stratospheric pay deal of around $1 trillion. A trillion is a thousand billion. The compensation consists of up to 423.7 million shares of Tesla stock over the next 10 years. This would mean that Mr Musk's stake in Tesla increases from about 13 per cent to almost 29 per cent. This depends on Musk boosting Tesla's market value to $8.5 trillion.
Tesla shareholders were encouraged to back the deal to stop Mr Musk from potentially walking away from Tesla. The Tesla board warned of a "possibility that he may pursue other interests should [the deal] be denied". It added that Musk was needed "to achieve goals that others will perceive as impossible, but that we know are possible for Tesla". Industry analyst Dan Ives concurred. He wrote: "Tesla needs Musk to take it into the autonomous driving, robotic future." Mr Musk hopes to propel the company forward by shifting focus from electric vehicles. He plans to shift to selling self-driving cars, a fleet of "Cybercab" robotaxis, and a legion of "Optimus" humanoid bi-pedal autonomous robots.
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Chat
Talk about these words from the article.
wealthiest person / dollar / trillionaire / remuneration / deal / compensation / value / shareholders / goals / impossible / industry / analyst / driving / robotaxis / robots
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True / False
1) Elon Musk is currently the second-richest person in the world. T / F
2) Tesla shareholders voted to give Mr Musk a huge remuneration package. T / F
3) A trillion is a billion billion. T / F
4) The pay deal will see Mr Musk take control of over a third of Tesla. T / F
5) Tesla shareholders were encouraged to reject the pay deal. T / F
6) The Tesla board believes that Musk can make the impossible possible. T / F
7) An industry analyst said Tesla needs Mr Musk. T / F
8) Tesla's new robotaxis will be called "Optimus". T / F
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Discussion
1) How important is wealth to you?
2) How would your life change is you had one trillion dollars?
3) Is it possible to spend $1 trillion?
4) What do you know about Elon Musk?
5) What do you think of Elon Musk?
6) What do you think of paying someone $1 trillion?
7) What do you think of Tesla?
8) What advice do you have for Elon Musk?