Despite not securing the $101 billion windfall he had hoped for, Elon Musk remains one of the wealthiest individuals globally and is on track to amass even greater wealth in the future. Recently, Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick dismissed a 2018 compensation plan from Tesla that would have granted him the right to purchase 304 million shares at the remarkably low price of $23.34 per share, a fraction of the stock's current market value of over $350 per share.

McCormick stated that even though 84% of non-Musk shareholders, including his brother Kimbal, had approved the options package following her initial rejection, such a generous compensation for the CEO was unjust to shareholders, and her previous ruling stands. In response, Musk labeled McCormick as "a radical far-left activist disguised as a judge." However, there's no need to start a fundraising campaign for Musk, as he is already among the world's richest, if not the richest, even without the missed billion-dollar package.

Musk has multiple avenues to significantly increase his wealth in the coming months and years, regardless of the outcome of his legal challenge. With the dismissal of the package, Musk has essentially been without compensation since the last of his 2012 stock options vested in 2018. He does not receive a cash salary or other bonuses; his compensation is solely in the form of stock options. Yet, the value of these shares and options has skyrocketed Musk's net worth from around $20 billion in 2018 to over a dozen times that amount, despite the absence of the 2018 package.

Tesla's legal team argued that it was unfair for Musk to receive no compensation due to the voided options package and emphasized the importance of incentivizing Musk to remain dedicated to Tesla amidst his other ventures, including his roles as CEO or major shareholder in SpaceX, social media platform X, AI company xAI, neurotechnology firm Neuralink, and infrastructure company The Boring Company. Additionally, Musk serves as a close advisor to President-elect Donald Trump and co-leads an initiative to reduce federal waste, indicating his diverse commitments beyond Tesla. He is also an active poster on X, often sharing over 100 posts daily, and claims to rank among the top players in a popular video game globally.

McCormick's decision noted that she is not against compensating Musk; she simply opposes a compensation package as substantial as the 304 million stock options. "The court did not find that the board should have paid Musk nothing. There were undoubtedly a range of reasonable amounts that the board could have decided to pay Musk," she wrote.

Instead of settling for a lesser amount, Musk could negotiate an entirely new compensation package starting this year. Even before the rulings against his 2018 package, Musk had expressed his desire for a new package that would grant him greater control over Tesla. His current 411 million shares represent a 13% stake in the company, and with the additional 304 million shares, he would control just over 20%. However, Musk has indicated that this would still not be sufficient.

In January, prior to McCormick's decision, Musk stated that he would not want to expand Tesla's leadership in artificial intelligence and robotics without a compensation plan that would give him ownership of around 25% of the company, which would be approximately double his current 13% stake, excluding the 2018 options. "I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned," Musk tweeted. "Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla."

While a new compensation package might encounter similar issues with Delaware courts, Tesla shareholders have approved a shift in the company's state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas, which would limit the courts' authority over future packages. The 411 million shares Musk already owns were worth $147 billion as of Monday's closing, placing his net worth over $330 billion according to both Bloomberg's and Forbes' real-time billionaire trackers. Although this includes some valuation for the now-rejected options, Musk is already the second-richest man, behind only Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and possibly slightly ahead of Bezos, depending on the estimate used.

Much of his wealth also stems from his holdings in SpaceX, the most valuable privately held company. Bloomberg estimates that Musk owns 42% of SpaceX, adding $88 billion to his net worth. Additionally, Bloomberg reported that SpaceX plans to offer shares held by private investors for sale at a price that would increase the company's value to $350 billion, raising the value of his stake to $147 billion. His other companies, while modestly valued, are still significant. Forbes estimates that xAI is worth $50 billion, with Musk owning 54% of its shares, amounting to $27 billion in privately held stock. As AI has been a popular sector for investors in the past year, its valuation could increase further.

Not all of the wealthiest individuals have amassed their fortunes through stock option packages. For instance, Bezos and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg both hold large stakes in their companies as founders but have not received stock grants or options since their IPOs in 1997 and 2012, respectively. Tesla's stock has surged 42% in the four weeks following the election, with investors betting that President-elect Trump's policies will benefit his "first buddy." This increase alone has raised the value of Musk's 411 million shares by $43.4 billion.

However, this is just a fraction of the potential gains for Tesla shares in the future. If the company's stock performs as Musk and his supporters predict, his current holdings could appreciate so much that the value of the rejected pay package would be insignificant. Ark Invest has set a five-year target price for Tesla shares at $2,600 per share, representing a more than 600% increase from its current value. This would raise Tesla's total market cap to approximately $8 trillion by 2029, surpassing the current combined values of Microsoft and Apple. Musk has told investors that he believes Ark's estimates are realistic, citing the company's plans to introduce fully autonomous vehicles and taxis, as well as robots in the coming year, which he expects will lead to a significant increase in profits.

On the other hand, even Musk has admitted that his predictions have been overly optimistic in the past, including his initial forecast that his cars would be able to drive themselves across the country by the end of 2017. As of now, no Tesla model available to consumers can operate without a human driver. Nevertheless, if Musk's vision materializes and Tesla shares reach the $2,600 price target, his current 411 million shares would be worth $1 trillion, making him the world's first trillionaire, even without additional gains from SpaceX, xAI, or his other holdings.