More CEOs Emulate Elon Musk's Risky Pay Packages Amid Concerns From Compensation Experts

Axon CEO Rick Smith's moonshot pay plan, similar to Elon Musk's at Tesla, was granted despite concerns from his wife. Smith was tasked with growing the company 10-fold over 10 years or achieve 8 revenue-based operational or adjusted-Ebitda-based goals. He succeeded in 5 years and was the highest-paid CEO last year with compensation valued at $165 million. Smith directed $88 million to be granted to lowest-paid workers.