Elon Musk is well on his way to being the world’s first trillionaire. The Tesla CEO is already one of richest people on Earth, with a net worth of $430 billion as of Oct. 21, 2025, per Forbes.
Now, thanks to a recent compensation package proposal with Tesla, the tech entrepreneur might just make an additional $900 billion over the next decade, potentially making him not only the first trillionaire, but the most well-paid CEO ever.
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GOBankingRates digs through available information to find out how much money Musk made this year. Also find out how much money every American would get if the Tesla CEO distributed his wealth evenly.
How Could Musk Become a Trillionaire?
As reported by ABC News, Tesla board has proposed an ample payment package for Musk, assuming he is able to hit a difficult series of goals across the next decade. More specifically, if Musk can increase the value of Tesla (which has a current valuation of $1.1 trillion) to a staggering $8.5 trillion — as well ensure the delivery of one million robots and one million Robotaxis — within a decade, he will be eligible for the massive CEO payment package.
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In the Meantime, How Much Did Musk Make in 2025?
With Musk on the cusp of amassing more wealth than any one person in human history (again), it’s worth asking — just what is the total yearly salary for one of the richest people alive?
That can be something of a tough number to discern, as Musk’s wealth varies based upon private company valuations, the stock market and the currently-available net worth figures regarding his vast and complicated wealth.
For instance, the yo-yoing of Tesla’s stock during the first two quarters of 2025 — due to Musk’s controversial work with President Donald Trump — led to a significant dip in Musk’s riches. Further, Musk does not have a typical salary in the same way other CEOs do. Instead, he has a performance-based compensation plan that was approved by Tesla in 2018.
That said, per Tesla’s 2025 proxy statement Form PRE14A (a filing made by public companies for their shareholders), “the preliminary aggregate fair value estimate of the 2025 CEO Performance Award is $87.75 billion.” Meaning that, barring an extreme change in Tesla’s sales or Musk’s public and political behavior (which have both helped and hindered Tesla sales at times), Musk’s “salary” for 2025 will be nearly $88 billion.
There may come a day, though, when a trillionaire Elon Musk will view $87.75 billion as relative chump change when compared to his overall earnings.
Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: What Is Elon Musk’s Total Salary in 2025?
