Tesla Is A Wealth Creation Machine: Elon Musk’s Salary Is Zero

Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y in Hawthorne, California on March 14, 2019. It's well known that Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk doesn't take a salary from Tesla, but the same can't be said for the rest of the company's staff. As the company grows, so does its workforce, as well as the checks required to keep the best talent on board.  PHOTO BY FREDERIC J. BROWN/GETTY IMAGES

It’s well known that Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk doesn’t take a salary from Tesla, but the same can’t be said for the rest of the company’s staff. As the company grows, so does its workforce, as well as the checks required to keep the best talent on board. 

Tesla doesn’t publicly disclose salary details, but the automaker is required to report offers in work-visa applications submitted to the U.S. Office of Foreign Labor Certification.

According to a Business Insider report, Tesla pays a majority of its employees somewhere between $85,000 and $175,000. Here’s a look at some of the average salaries for various positions at the Musk-led company. 

• Logistics Analyst: $85,333
• Associate Manufacturing Engineer: $93,983
• Quality Assurance Engineer: $104,221
• Test Engineer: $112,272
• Global Supply Manager: $119,890
• Technical Program Manager: $120,083
• Senior Hardware Engineer: $142,342
• Electronic Design Engineer: $161,157
• Mechanical Design Manager: $173,200
• Software Development Engineer: $175,703

It’s important to note that the data doesn’t include stock-based compensation and grants that can significantly increase overall pay. Additionally, individual performance rewards and bonuses are not accounted for in the provided data.

In an aerial view, Tesla cars sit parked in a lot at the Tesla factory on April 20, 2022 in Fremont, California. Tesla reported first quarter earnings that far exceeded analyst expectations with revenue of $18.76 billion compared to expectations of $17.80 billion. PHOTO BY JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES

Stock-based compensation has been particularly lucrative for Tesla employees in recent years, given the stock’s incredible run from late 2019 to the end of 2021. 

According to Salary.com, several company executives received salaries between approximately $270,000 and $300,000 per year in 2020, but their equity in the company allowed them to make more than $46 million each.

Musk currently sits atop the Forbes billionaires list and a large majority of his wealth comes from his Tesla stock. As of the end of 2022, Musk owned more than 423 million shares of the EV maker, representing a 13.4% stake in the company. That’s after he sold a significant amount of Tesla shares in order to help fund his $44 billion Twitter takeover.

Produced in association with Benzinga

Edited by Saba Fatima and Newsdesk Manager