Elon Musk’s Moonshot Pay Deal Spawned Copycats That Flopped—Bloomberg
November 6, 2025
Interviewed by Bloomberg on the issue of “moonshot” pay packages, Farient Advisors Chief Data Officer Eric Hoffmann explains, “The concern that we have in the industry is not just the size, but what kind of risk are the CEOs willing to take to achieve these outsized rewards. They feel like lottery tickets.”
Hoffmann’s comments come as Bloomberg examines the growing trend of massive performance-based equity plans inspired by Elon Musk’s 2018 Tesla award. While some CEOs have seen success, many—including leaders at Airbnb, Opendoor, and Farfetch—have failed to meet aggressive stock price targets, forfeiting billions in potential pay. As companies continue experimenting with these ultra-leveraged incentive plans, Hoffmann cautions that boards must balance ambition with realism—and weigh whether the risks truly align with shareholder value.
About Eric Hoffmann
Chief Data Officer
Louisville, Kentucky
(626) 800-3120
eric.hoffmann@farient.com
Eric leads Farient’s data strategy, operational capabilities, partnerships, research, and client insights. With more than 20 years of human resource technology and data analytics experience, Eric’s work at Farient focuses on creating and delivering information and decision support to boards of directors, human resource professionals, and investors. Combining data analytics and visualization, Eric and his team create compelling narratives that lead to business insight and defensible decisions for his clients.
Eric has extensive experience in executive compensation and performance. From March 2005 to January 2011, he was the Technology Solutions Delivery Leader and a partner at Mercer. In support of Mercer’s compensation and benefits data and analytics business, Eric and his global, cross-disciplinary team delivered leading-edge SaaS-based client-facing and operationally driven data analytics solutions. Before that, Eric was a principal at Mercer, where he led a software development team. Eric holds a BS in computer science and mathematics from Purdue University and an MS in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
© 2025 Farient Advisors LLC. | Privacy Policy | Site by: Treacle Media