Elon Musk says X staff can get their stock — if they prove they deserve it

Elon Musk sent an email to X staff overnight about their much anticipated stock grants — but there’s a catch.

In an email to staff viewed by The Verge, the company is planning to award stock options based on the anticipated future impact of employees. That means staff have to submit a one-page summary telling leadership their contributions to the company.

These anticipated stock grants add to the tensions between X leadership and staff after the promotions process was recently delayed without explanation, we previously reported. Given how the company formerly called Twitter has continued to struggle under Elon Musk’s ownership, employees have been bracing for more layoffs.

What’s more, a source at X told The Verge that the company still owes staff their annual equity refresher, which was supposed to be doled out in April. Musk previously assured employees that they could regularly cash out stock, similar to SpaceX staff, according to two employees. However, he has not yet followed through on this promise.