Ever wondered how much Elon Musk makes? Spoiler alert: It’s not your typical paycheck. In fact, Musk’s wealth is tied almost entirely to stock options and investments for his various companies, like Tesla and SpaceX. That means his daily earnings fluctuate wildly, depending on market performance and other ventures.
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With a current net worth of $470.9 billion, Musk’s wealth can be hard for the average person to imagine, especially when considering how much he earns daily. Breaking it down really puts the average paycheck into perspective. Here’s a closer look at approximately how much Musk makes in day.
So, How Much Is Elon Musk’s Daily ‘Paycheck’?
Musk’s money does not come from a salary. Instead, it’s tied up in his stock options and other investments. Because his net worth fluctuates so much, it’s hard to get an exact amount for his paychecks, but for the sake of getting an estimate, it’s better to take a year’s worth of earnings and then work backward.
For example, Musk’s net worth grew by about $203 billion last year, reaching a record high of approximately $486.4 billion by the end of 2024. This means Musk earned approximately $584 million per day, which translates to roughly $24 million per hour, $405,000 per minute, or about $6,750 every second.
As of November 2025, the change in his net worth is estimated to be around $473 billion to $500 billion, give or take. However, as of the end of the third quarter, his net worth had decreased by approximately $48.2 billion year to date, averaging about $191 million per day.
Yes, despite his constantly shifting net worth, Musk technically doesn’t earn a salary. Instead of collecting a paycheck at Tesla, the company’s CEO — and majority shareholder — only gets paid when the electric automaker’s market capitalization and financial growth reach certain targets. Not to mention, there is also a potential $1 trillion stock option pay package that was approved recently and is to be awarded over 10 years if he meets specific goals.
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Elon Musk’s Businesses
So, just how did Elon Musk get fast-tracked to likely becoming the world’s first trillionaire? Simply put, he’s had a lot of success in buying tech and companies at the right time and place.
For example, his first business, a company that provided and licensed online city guide software to newspapers named Zip2, was sold to Compaq for $307 million. Also, after creating PayPal, Elon Musk sold it to eBay for $180 million.
Founded in 2003, Tesla builds all-electric vehicles, as well as clean energy generation and storage products. Musk owns approximately 21% of the company, but more than half of his stake is currently tied up as collateral for loans. Currently, Tesla’s stock price is $408.84 a share and has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion.
Musk also founded SpaceX in 2002 and serves as the company’s CEO. Since its inception, the aerospace company has had well over 600 launches, with 160 of those just being in 2025 so far. SpaceX is privately held, so you can’t invest in its stock, but it is currently estimated to be worth about $400 billion.
Chris Ozarowski contributed to the reporting for this article.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Much Does Elon Musk Make in a Day?
