Elon Musk’s Moonshot Pay Deal Spawned Copycats That Flopped

Even if Tesla Inc. shareholders approve a $1 trillion compensation plan for Elon Musk, the experience of other CEOs show a big payout isn’t guaranteed.

When Opendoor Technologies Inc. and Airbnb Inc. went public within weeks of each other in December 2020, they both tapped so-called “moonshot” compensation deals for their chief executives potentially worth billions, reflecting their ambitious growth goals and a giddy investment environment.