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Tesla paid Elon Musk 2.5m times more than its average worker in 2025

An AFL-CIO executive pay watch found the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio for top S&P 500 firms rose to 312:1 in 2025, or 5,387:1 when Tesla is included.

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Tesla paid CEO Elon Musk 2.5 million times more than the pay received by the company’s average worker in 2025, according to an AFL-CIO executive pay watch report released this week, as cited by Guardian Business.

The report said Musk’s $158.3 billion pay deal was an outlier, but highlighted a broader widening gap between CEO and worker compensation at top S&P 500 companies.

Excluding Musk, the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio for the top S&P 500 firms was 312 to 1 in 2025, up from 285 to 1 in 2024. With Musk included, the average ratio rose to 5,387 to 1, the report said.

Guardian Business reported the AFL-CIO also found average CEO pay was $22.8 million in 2025 excluding Musk, versus $340.1 million when Tesla was included, and it pointed to data on worker financial stress including low retirement savings and difficulty covering unexpected expenses.

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