Google just handed CEO Sundar Pichai a massive $692 million compensation package. Most of the money comes from stock awards tied to how well the company performs over the next few years.
This isn’t just cash in the bank. Pichai only gets the full amount if Google hits specific targets, including success with its self-driving car company Waymo and Wing, its drone delivery service. It’s like a giant performance bonus that could take years to actually collect.
Betting Big on Robot Cars and Drones
Google is clearly putting serious money behind its moonshot projects. By tying Pichai’s pay to Waymo and Wing’s success, they’re essentially betting hundreds of millions that robot taxis and delivery drones will become real businesses soon.
The timing makes sense. Waymo just started offering paid rides in San Francisco, while Wing is delivering packages by drone in select cities. These projects have burned through billions of dollars over the years with little to show for it financially.
Pichai’s base salary is actually just $2 million. The rest comes from stock that only pays out if Google’s stock price goes up and these experimental divisions start making real money. It’s a huge gamble on technologies that still feel pretty futuristic to most people.
What Happens Next
Expect Google to push harder on self-driving cars and drone deliveries. When your CEO’s paycheck depends on robot taxis working, you can bet the company will throw everything behind making that happen. Whether it actually works is the $692 million question.