Tesla directors’ pay far outpaces big tech peers
Tesla’s board of directors has earned more than $3 billion from stock awards, far exceeding compensation at other major U.S. technology firms.
The windfall largely stems from generous stock-option grants issued between 2018 and 2020, whose value surged alongside Tesla’s share price. Although Tesla suspended director pay in 2021 as part of a shareholder lawsuit settlement over excessive compensation, the appreciation of earlier awards continued to deliver massive gains, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Among the biggest beneficiaries are Kimbal Musk, who has earned nearly $1 billion since 2004, board chair Robyn Denholm with about $650 million, and director Ira Ehrenpreis, who has made roughly $869 million. On average, Tesla directors earned 2.5 times more than Meta’s board members between 2018 and 2024, even including years with no pay.
Governance experts criticised Tesla’s use of stock options instead of shares, arguing that options magnify upside without exposing directors to downside risk, potentially undermining board independence. Only about 5% of large S&P 500 companies compensate directors with options.
Tesla defended its approach, saying director pay is directly tied to shareholder value creation and reflects the substantial time commitment required. Critics, however, say the scale of compensation raises concerns about oversight—especially as Tesla’s board continues to back record-breaking pay packages for CEO Elon Musk, including a proposed long-term award that could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
The findings add to ongoing scrutiny of Tesla’s corporate governance as legal and shareholder challenges over executive and board compensation continue.
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