Auto CEO Salary: Elon Musk Receives… 0 VND from Tesla

A study by Automotive News and Equilar has released the salaries of the top CEOs in the auto and tech industries in 2024. Elon Musk is the most surprising name.

Stellantis doesn’t appear on the list because the company is headquartered in the Netherlands, outside the scope of the study, which focuses on US-based companies. But a leaked filing shows that new CEO Antonio Filosa could earn up to $10.2 million in 2025, less than his predecessor Carlos Tavares, who received $23.9 million in his final year of employment. Photo: Carscoops

According to the latest analysis of CEO salaries in the auto and technology sectors, Mary Barra, CEO of GM, tops the list, while Elon Musk is “at the bottom”.

With an income of $29,818,313 last year, Mary Barra’s income from General Motors increased by 12.2% compared to the previous year. This salary is 310 times higher than the average salary of a GM worker.

In second place is Ford CEO Jim Farley, with total compensation of $27,608,563. This figure increased by 97.1% compared to 2023, mainly due to “stock profits” worth $23,392,143.

Third place belongs to RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian, with total income of 13,955,227 USD, an increase of 974.1% compared to 2023.

While impressive, these numbers pale in comparison to the salaries of tech CEOs. Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang earned a whopping $197,604,703 in total compensation in 2023, a significant drop from the $288,832,071 he was due in 2023.

Following Jen-Hsun Huang is Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, with an income of 114,910,689 USD , a sharp increase compared to last year thanks to profits from stock options.

Craig Arnold, former CEO of Eaton, ranked third on the overall list with a total compensation of $59,907,764 in 2024. Following him was Nicholas Pinchuk, CEO of Snap-on, who earned $34,446,115.

The study of 61 companies found that the average salary of CEOs in the auto industry increased by 5% to $17,290,270. In contrast, the average salary of CEOs in the supply sector decreased by 13% to $11,234,560.

One notable exception is Tesla CEO Elon Musk , who took no salary last year. However, he received a payout of around $29 billion in August this year.