How could one guy get paid more than the whole company ever made?
Because that $1trillion pay packet is contingent on the value of Tesla going to like $5tril, which would make it the biggest company in the history of the world. It would make every shareholder insanely rich.
But undeniably worth it if you're a tesla shareholder.
It's like your financial adviser saying "I'll make you a billionaire in 5 years, and if I do your bill will be $1mil. If I don't, don't pay me anything, and you've lost nothing" - why would anyone have an issue with that?