Vetted by NeuralPress's Multi-Agent Verifier for strict factual validity and event relevance. Our compliance engine cross-checks and filters search results to ensure zero false correlations or misleading content.
Tesla Security Expenditure for Elon Musk (in Millions USD)
Annual spending trends for Elon Musk's security at Tesla.
Primary Sources
Elon Musk's security bill keeps on rising - Business Insider
Tesla CEO Elon Musk travels with a security entourage. Josh Edelson/Getty Images 2026-05-01T11:57:51.535Z Tesla's security spending for Elon Musk rose to $4.8 million in 2025, up from $2.8 million in 2024. The costs for Musk's protection rose amid growing threats to high-profile executives. Musk wrote in a post on X in September that he "definitely" needs to "enhance security." Tesla's bill for Elon Musk's security has gotten a whole lot more expensive. The EV giant spent about $4.8 million on Musk's security in 2025, up from $2.8 million the year before, according to Tesla's latest 10K SEC filing, as concerns about threats to high-profile executives continue to grow.Tesla's spending on Musk's security through to February more than doubled to $1.3 million from $500,000 in the same period a year earlier.This is not the total cost of Musk's security — his other companies, including SpaceX and xAI, also pay for some of it as part of efforts to manage risks tied to his high profile.Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Security surrounds Elon Musk at the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg in 2024. Sebastian Gollnow/picture alliance via Getty Images The ramp-up in security allocations comes amid growing threats against CEOs and other high-profile individuals.In April, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Security veterans previously told Business Insider that this attack is likely to prompt companies to reassess how they protect their executives, so they can ensure their safety at private residences, as well as in public.While executive security has always been of importance to companies, the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024 ramped up security concerns.In response to a post in September on X by 'retail shareholder advocate' Alexandra Merz that Tesla needs to "drastically" increase its security spending on him, Musk wrote that he "definitely need[s] to enhance security."This came in the aftermath of the killing of Charlie Kirk, a conservative influencer.The New York Times reported in 2024 that Musk travels with as many as 20 bodyguards and a medical professional.Musk's growing security spend still pales in comparison to that of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's. In Meta's last three annual proxy statements, Zuckerberg's "other compensation," which includes security and travel costs, has been $24 million or higher.
Elon Musk is about to get a lot richer. It was worth the headaches.
By William Gavin Musk would have to pay $23.34 a share to exercise his award, but the stock is currently trading at more than 16 times that price Elon Musk's net worth stands at nearly $650 billion, primarily thanks to his stakes in SpaceX and Tesla, both of which he leads as CEO. Tesla has officially handed over the rights to hundreds of millions of shares to CEO Elon Musk, owed to him under a plan approved by investors eight years ago. The electric-vehicle maker on Monday registered 303,960,630 shares of common stock, which were awarded to Musk under the terms of his 2018 compensation plan. Musk has an 11% stake in Tesla (TSLA), excluding those shares, according to FactSet. Based on current share counts, increasing his holdings by 303,960,630 shares would boost Musk's direct stake in Tesla to just over 19%. Registering Musk's stock means that the shares will be available for trade once he exercises his options. According to an April 21 letter filed with regulators, Musk must exercise the 2018 award no later than Aug. 15, 2026, and will then receive the restricted shares, which vest in early 2028. To exercise the award, Musk would have to buy the stock at his "strike price" of $23.34 a share, paying about $7.09 billion in total. If he then sold the stock at its current price - the stock was up 0.9% at $379.67 in afternoon trading on Monday - he would net about $108.3 billion. In 2018, investors overwhelmingly approved the compensation plan, which would award Musk a certain amount of shares after reaching 12 set groups of milestones. In order to fully vest, Tesla needed to grow its market capitalization by $600 billion and reach a series of revenue and profitability targets. By June 2022, Tesla had achieved all 12 market-cap milestones and 11 operational milestones. Eleven of the 12 tranches vested. However, in response to a shareholder lawsuit, the Delaware Chancery Court invalidated the options package in 2024. Then, in late 2025, a Delaware Supreme Court judge ruled that the pay package must be reinstated. "It is undisputed that Musk fully performed under the 2018 Grant, and Tesla and its stockholders were rewarded," the judge wrote. At the end of trading on March 21, 2018, the day investors approved Musk's 2018 pay package, Tesla's share price stood at $21.10. See more: Tesla is headed down a path of 'runaway, unsustainable' spending, analysts warn Earlier this month, an interim award of stock to Musk was forfeited under a "no double dip" ...
Understanding Elon Musk's 2025 Tesla Compensation Package
5 hours ago ... His salary system provides him with payments that depend on Tesla's business results and its stock market performance. The 2025 fiscal year brought Tesla a ...
Elon Musk's messiest year yet is ending in a record payday
Key Points Despite a tumultuous 2025, Elon Musk secures the largest CEO payday in history. Musk must retain shares for five years and remain executive through 2028 for vesting. Tesla's future ...
