The world’s richest man just got a little richer.Elon Musk’s first installment of his moonshot compensation package at Tesla came in at $158.4 billion for 2025, according to a regulatory filing Thursday.The pay package was part of a stratospheric new compensation plan approved by shareholders last year as a way to motivate Tesla’s chief executive to spend time at the electric-vehicle maker.
Elon Musk
Musk may not make the full amount reported, however, because his compensation is tied to meeting company performance targets.
Musk, who is also CEO of SpaceX and xAI, had threatened on social media to leave Tesla if the measure had been rejected. He is also Tesla’s biggest shareholder, and someone whose leadership is widely seen as key to the company’s sky-high valuation.
Tesla is currently valued more highly than about a dozen other carmakers combined on the premise that it can deliver a future that includes driverless taxis, humanoid robots and groundbreaking advancements in artificial intelligence.
Musk’s total compensation last year included $132 billion as the maximum grant date fair value for his 2025 CEO Performance Award. His package also included a $26 billion interim award, but the filing said Musk forfeited the award.
In November, Tesla shareholders approved a landmark compensation package for Musk that could pay out as much as $1 trillion in stock if certain goals are met over the next 10 years.
The goals include Tesla achieving $2 trillion in market capitalization—it is currently valued at $1.2 trillion—delivering 20 million cars, putting one million robotaxis into service and selling one million humanoid robots.
The filing, which Tesla made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, also said Musk had 207.5 million Tesla shares that he could use as collateral.
