Business
Tesla plans to pay Musk $1tn – do they really need him that much?
Lucy HookerBusiness reporter
Getty ImagesA great leader is a huge asset for company, of course, but can anyone be worth $1 trillion?
That is the pay packet Tesla shareholders have approved for Elon Musk, as long as he meets the targets they have set over the next 10 years.
In the meantime he won’t collect a salary, but will presumably throw himself into his work with renewed vigour.
He was certainly buzzing with energy as he jigged around the stage at the carmaker’s Texas headquarters to rapturous applause, telling the audience that while other shareholder meetings were “snoozefests”, Tesla’s are “bangers”.
Musk has attracted an army of critics, upset that he sided with US President Donald Trump, wielding his chainsaw at government programmes, and wading into politics overseas with explicit support for the far right.
But he has an equally large following of admirers, people who believe in his vision and don’t doubt that he can achieve it.
It seems most of his shareholders are in this camp, after they backed his new remuneration package this week.
Of course shareholders signed up, says New York-based financial analyst Dan Ives. If Musk succeeds – and Ives thinks he will – he will have created trillions of dollars worth of shareholder value, ample payback for investors.
Ives sees Musk as a “modern day Albert Einstein, a Thomas Edison”.
Without the stupendous pay package, he says, there was a risk that within a few years Musk would have walked away, taking his Artificial Intellgience (AI) initiatives with him.
“Tesla without Musk is like pizza without cheese,” he says.
Ives does not own shares in Tesla, but analyses the company for his firm Wedbush Securities and thinks Musk’s “ability to go where others are not” means he may well achieve the targets that have been set.
“There’s edgy behaviour, there’s haters, but a lot of people love that. And that’s why he’s the richest person in the world.
“Does it help sell cars in Europe? No. But does it help Tesla win the AI race? Yes.”
Bloomberg via Getty ImagesMusk’s political activities have prompted a backlash from some customers, including demonstrations outside showrooms earlier this year.
But Matt Britzman at Hargreaves Lansdown in London, who has invested in Tesla, says the impact is a drop in the ocean when it comes to Tesla’s earnings.
Far from weighing on the firm’s valuation, he reckons around a third of the value of Tesla can be attributed to what he calls the “Musk premium”, value that wouldn’t be there without him.
“It’s a $1.4 trillion company, not based on the current car business. It’s a $1.4 trillion business based on expectations of what it can deliver over the next three years.”
And a lot of those expectations are fixed on Musk and his record of thinking big and thinking long term, he says.
The potential reward for Musk is as astronomical as his vision for space travel.
With $1 trillion you could buy 20 million Model Y Teslas, at around $50,000 each. Or you could buy yourself a $10m house every day for 250 years, and still have change for furnishing and decorating.
The conditions appear to be very testing, including delivering 20 million Tesla vehicles and one million robots. A million self-driving Robotaxi vehicles will also need to be on the roads.
Tesla’s overall market value will need to rise from its current $1.4tn to $8.5tn.
These are “incredibly high milestones”, says Ann Lipton, a law professor at the University of Colorado.
However, the board does have “discretion” to decide when some of them have been met, she adds.
“If intervening events prevent him from reaching the goals, the board can deem them met anyway.”
So the targets may not turn out to be quite as demanding as they appear.
There is also nothing in the terms, no constraint, that prevents Musk continuing to speak out about politics or anything else.
“Even after the pay package was proposed, he didn’t pull back from his political commentary,” adds Prof Lipton.
“So it seems to me that this pay package, whatever the goals are, however lofty they may be, they’re not going to inhibit him from involving himself in whatever matters he wants to be involved in.”
That freedom could pose the biggest risk, according to Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights at car sector marketing and software firm Cox Automotive.
Musk is a visionary she says, but he’s also unpredictable, and it is possible that his other interests may distract him as they have before, leading him to neglect Tesla, which itself is already a smorgasbord of different businesses and challenges.
“I’m hoping that based on his experience with getting politically involved and how that really hurt some of his brand and sales that he has learned to really focus on this business.
“But that’s going to be the board’s responsibility,” she adds, “to make sure that he stays within the guardrails, and that he does what’s right for Tesla.”
And if he does, well the sky is the limit, or possibly Mars, for Musk’s ambition.
“People laughed when his 2018 pay package was approved,” says Prof Lipton. “And he hit those milestones well ahead of schedule.”
Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) forwarded a summary to the federal government suggesting an increase of Rs4.39 per liter in petrol price for the next fortnight.
After approval from the federal government, one liter of petrol will be sold at Rs257.56 instead of Rs253.17 per liter.
The price of high-speed diesel (HSD) will be increased by Rs5.40 per liter.
After approval, the price of one liter of high-speed diesel will increase by Rs268.38 to Rs273.78.
The proposal to increase the price of kerosene by Rs4 per liter is also on the cards.
The OGRA also recommended increasing the price of one liter of light diesel by Rs6.55.
The new prices of petroleum products will be effective from February 16, 2026.
Due to tension between the USA and Iran, petroleum prices are likely to increase further.
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RBI releases draft to revise Kisan Credit Card Scheme, standardizing crop cycles, extending loan tenure to six years, and aligning credit limits with cultivation costs.
From Crop Cycles To Loan Tenure: 4 Key Changes In RBI’s KCC Proposal
Kisan Credit Card Scheme: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released draft directions to revise the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme, aiming to expand coverage, streamline operations, and align credit norms with evolving agricultural needs.
Standardized Crop Cycles And Extended Loan Tenure
As outlined in the draft, crop seasons have been standardized to introduce uniformity in loan sanctioning and repayment schedules. Short-duration crops will now be treated under a 12-month cycle, while long-duration crops will follow an 18-month cycle.
Example:
A farmer growing paddy or wheat (harvested in a few months) will follow a 12-month loan cycle.
A farmer growing sugarcane (which takes 12–18 months) will get an 18-month cycle.
To better align loan tenure with these crop cycles, especially for longer-duration crops, the overall tenure of the KCC facility has been extended to six years. The move is expected to provide farmers with greater flexibility in repayment and reduce rollover pressures.
Example:
If a farmer growing sugarcane faces a bad monsoon in Year 2, he doesn’t have to rush repayment immediately. The 6-year window gives more breathing space and reduces pressure to take fresh loans to repay old ones.
The draft directions apply to Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Regional Rural Banks, and Rural Co-operative Banks, indicating a system-wide implementation once finalized.
Drawing Limits Linked To Cost Of Cultivation
The RBI has proposed aligning drawing limits under the KCC scheme with the scale of finance for each crop season . This adjustment aims to ensure that farmers receive credit in line with the actual cost of cultivation, addressing concerns around under-financing.
Example:
If growing cotton in a district costs Rs 60,000 per acre (as per agriculture department data), banks will align KCC limits accordingly — instead of giving a lower, outdated amount like Rs 40,000.
In addition, the draft expands eligible components under the KCC framework. Expenses related to technological interventions—such as soil testing, real-time weather forecasts, and certification for organic or good agricultural practices—have been included within the existing 20% additional component earmarked for repairs and maintenance of farm assets .
Example:
If a farmer wants to:
- Test soil before sowing
- Subscribe to real-time weather alerts
- Get organic farming certification
These costs can now be covered under KCC instead of paying from pocket.
What Is Kisan Credit Card Scheme?
The Kisan Credit Card scheme aims at providing adequate and timely credit support from the banking system under a single window with flexible and simplified procedures to the farmers for their cultivation and other needs.
The KCC scheme was introduced in 1998 for the issue of Kisan Credit Cards to farmers on the basis of their holdings for uniform adoption by the banks so that farmers may use them to readily purchase agriculture inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc. and draw cash for their production needs.
KCC covers post-harvest expenses, produce marketing loan, consumption requirements of farmer households, working capital for maintenance of farm assets and activities allied to agriculture, investment credit requirement for agriculture and allied activities.
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February 14, 2026, 12:49 IST
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Four ports under construction in Andhra Pradesh, Centre tells Lok Sabha – The Times of India
The Centre is pushing port-led infrastructure expansion in Andhra Pradesh, with four ports currently under construction, even as it steps up nationwide port modernisation and efficiency measures.As per information shared on Friday in Parliament, the ports under construction in Andhra Pradesh are Mulapeta Port (formerly Bhavanapadu Port) in Srikakulam district, Machilipatnam Port in Krishna district, Ramayapatnam Port in SPSR Nellore district, and Kakinada SEZ Port in Kakinada district.The government said it is undertaking measures such as mechanisation of berths and terminals, digitalisation and logistics integration, new berth construction, capital dredging for larger vessels, and connectivity upgrades across road, rail and waterways.It has also rolled out initiatives including elimination of manual forms, direct port delivery and entry, container scanners, e-delivery of documents and payments, RFID-based gate automation and Maritime Single Window platform SagarSetu 2.0 to cut vessel turnaround time.Two new ports — Vadhavan Port in Maharashtra and Galathea Bay Port in Andaman and Nicobar Islands — have been notified as major ports. At present, 12 major ports operate under the central government, while 68 other-than-major ports are under state governments.Under the Sagarmala scheme, financial assistance is provided across five pillars including port modernisation, connectivity, port-led industrialisation, coastal community development and inland water transport.The government has also launched HaritSagar green port guidelines, the Green Tug Transition Programme (GTTP), and the Cruise Bharat Mission to promote sustainability and cruise tourism.The information was given by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.At present, 12 major ports operate under the administrative control of the central government, while 68 operational other-than-major ports are under state governments.The government said it has launched multiple national programmes for port development, expansion and upgradation. Under the Sagarmala scheme, financial assistance is provided under five pillars — port modernisation, port connectivity, port-led industrialisation, coastal community development, and coastal shipping and inland water transport.Green and sustainability-linked initiatives have also been introduced. The government has launched HaritSagar green port guidelines to promote environment-friendly port ecosystems and initiated the Green Tug Transition Programme (GTTP) to shift harbour tugs towards greener fuel alternatives.Further, the Cruise Bharat Mission has been launched to prioritise cruise tourism development across the country.
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