Tesla CEO Elon Musk receives compensation worth about 2.5 million times the salary of the company’s average worker, according to a new executive-pay report released this week.
The analysis, by the AFL-CIO, evaluates pay ratios across top U.S. companies in the S&P 500. For 2025, the report says the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio is 312 to 1 when Musk’s figures are excluded. It then shows that including Musk drives the overall average to 5,387 to 1, describing his $158.3 billion pay package as an outlier.
Both outlets report that the study also points to a broader trend: the CEO-to-worker pay gap at major U.S. firms continues to widen over time. The Guardian notes the ratio rises from 285:1 in 2024 to 312:1 in 2025 (excluding Musk). Quartz similarly emphasizes that Musk’s package skews the S&P 500 CEO pay averages to a record high, while acknowledging the exceptional nature of his compensation.
