Tesla CEO Elon Musk received about $158.3 billion in total compensation in 2025, setting a record for executive pay, according to an AFL-CIO executive compensation report cited by Fortune. The report said Musk’s annual pay was roughly 2.52 million times the average annual salary of a Tesla employee, listed at $57,200. On that basis, he would need only about 4.23 seconds to earn what a typical worker makes in a year. The report said the bulk of Musk’s 2025 package came from Tesla restricted stock awards, with the final value tied to the company’s future performance targets. If fully realized, the package could carry a potential value of as much as $1 trillion. AFL-CIO described the scale of the compensation as unprecedented and said it was more than 14 times the combined pay of all other S&P 500 company CEOs. The report also said total CEO compensation at S&P 500 companies reached about $340 million last year, up around 1700%, while average pay excluding Musk was about $22.8 million, up 21%.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk received about $158.3 billion in total compensation in 2025, setting a corporate executive pay record, according to an AFL-CIO executive compensation report cited by Fortune.
The report said Musk’s annual compensation was about 2.52 million times the average Tesla employee salary of $57,200. Based on that comparison, he would need only about 4.23 seconds to make what an ordinary employee earns in a full year.
AFL-CIO said Musk’s 2025 compensation was driven mainly by restricted stock awards granted by Tesla. The final value depends on whether the company meets future performance targets. If the package is fully realized, its potential value could reach about $1 trillion.
The labor group described the scale of the pay package as “unprecedented.” It also said the amount was more than 14 times the combined compensation of all other S&P 500 company CEOs.
The report added that, including Musk, total compensation for S&P 500 company CEOs last year was about $340 million, up roughly 1700% year over year. Excluding Musk, average CEO pay in the S&P 500 was about $22.8 million, up 21%.
According to the report, the gap between Musk’s pay and worker compensation highlights the imbalance between growth in executive pay and income growth for ordinary employees in the United States. By comparison, average pay for S&P 500 CEOs was about 312 times the median employee wage.
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