How much salary does Elon Musk draw? The CEO of some of the world’s most prestigious brands like Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and xAI is expected to earn a fortune from his day jobs. However, his brother, Kimbal Musk, has made a rather shocking revelation, suggesting that Musk hasn’t withdrawn salary from Tesla since 2017!
In a recent interview, Kimbal Musk, the younger brother of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, revealed that the tech mogul has not received a salary from the company for the past six to eight years.
Elon Musk doesn’t get salary from Tesla, claims brother
Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Box, Kimbal Musk said, “I think my brother deserves to be paid. He has zero pay for the past six to eight years. I don’t think that’s right. I’ll let Tesla shareholders make that decision, but I believe that it does need to be. He needs to be paid.”
The statement brings attention to Musk’s ongoing legal and financial disputes around his compensation. It is widely known that Musk’s salary structure is entirely based on performance-based incentives rather than a fixed wage.
Unlike traditional corporate executives who receive a consistent paycheck, Elon Musk‘s earnings at Tesla are directly tied to the company’s performance. His compensation is related to the company’s ability to achieve significant revenue, profit, or market value milestones. This unique compensation plan has led to the creation of his immense wealth. However, it has also placed him at the center of a legal battle.
Musk’s compensation controversy
The controversy emerges from a 2018 pay package, valued at an astonishing $56 billion, which was recently nullified by a Delaware court judge. The judge ruled the deal was flawed and ordered it to be cancelled. In response, Tesla’s board has approved an interim compensation plan for Musk, consisting of 96 million shares valued at approximately $29 billion. This temporary measure is said to provide financial clarity while Tesla appeals the Delaware court’s decision.
In a related development, Elon Musk recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his desire for a 25 per cent voting stake in Tesla. He stated that he would feel “uncomfortable” moving forward with large-scale AI and robotics projects without that level of control. This added another layer of complexity to his relationship with Tesla’s board and shareholders.
