Could staking your compensation on an all-or-nothing bet make you a better leader—or just a higher-stakes gambler? That question is resurfacing in boardrooms as “moonshot” pay packages gain traction among CEOs and boards seeking to inspire extraordinary performance and lock in ambitious talent, writes my colleague Amanda Gerut. The concept, first thrust into the spotlight by Elon Musk’s 2018 Tesla deal, has reemerged in striking fashion through Rick Smith, CEO of Axon Enterprise, the maker of Taser stun g ...

Smith shooting the moon—twice, potentially—represents a resurgent breed of executive compensation that has captured the imaginations of a growing number of CEOs. Moonshot wanderlust initially kicked into high gear after Elon Musk’s groundbreaking 2017 award from Tesla, once valued as high as $56 billion before it was twice rescinded owing to a legal challenge. Moonshot grants, not to be confused with an outsize stock grant known as a “mega grant” for its sheer size, tie CEO compensation almost entirely to a ...