Elon Musk’s Tesla pay package is sky-high compared to Georgia CEOs

Many CEOs have multi-million dollar compensation packages, but Musk is seeking approval of a multi-billion dollar pay package
Elon Musk speaks on Dec. 16, 2023, at the Sant'Angelo Castle in Rome. (Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Elon Musk speaks on Dec. 16, 2023, at the Sant'Angelo Castle in Rome. (Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

It’s not unusual for CEO pay at large companies to be many times larger than the average worker’s pay.

But Elon Musk’s pay package as CEO of Tesla, which shareholders voted in favor of Thursday, is making headlines for an eye-popping value of around $44.9 billion. That’s many times larger than other CEOs’ total compensation.

He might not be able to claim it.

The CEOs of the some of the best-known companies in Georgia — Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola, Equifax and UPS — got compensation packages worth millions of dollars last year.

That’s still a small fraction of Musk’s pay package.

To be sure, Musk is no ordinary CEO. He invested in Tesla and grew it to be a leader in electric vehicles.

But in a January opinion on a shareholder lawsuit, a judge determined that Musk controlled the Tesla board and is not entitled to the pay package that dates back to 2018, the Associated Press reported.

Tesla and Musk launched a lobbying effort to get the package approved — though they still face legal hurdles.

Here’s a breakdown of the total compensation packages of some prominent CEOs in Georgia:

The Associated Press contributed to this report.