Tesla pays Musk 2.5 million times more than average worker, even as profits drop

Key Points:

• A new AFL-CIO report reveals Elon Musk as the highest-compensated CEO in 2025, earning as much as 2,522,203 average Tesla workers, despite Tesla experiencing its first-ever year-over-year revenue decline and a 61% drop in GAAP profits.
• Musk's $158 billion compensation in 2025 exceeded Tesla’s total revenue for the year and was higher than the company's total historical profits, highlighting an extreme pay disparity far above the typical CEO-to-worker ratio in the US.
• The report criticizes Musk for actions that harmed Tesla’s financial performance and reputation, including spending $288 million on anti-EV campaigns, controversial political statements supporting white supremacist views, and disruptive management decisions.
• Musk’s focus on other ventures like Twitter and AI, along with reallocating Tesla resources to those projects, has contributed to Tesla’s declining profits and operational chaos, while he continues to receive record-breaking compensation packages.
• Despite causing significant damage to Tesla’s business and public image, Musk remains the highest-paid employee, raising questions about corporate governance and executive accountability in major US companies.