Tesla has helped make Elon Musk the richest person in the world, but the electric vehicle maker’s other executives and directors are also rewarded for their work.
Among the top-earning Tesla executives in terms of stock awards are two executives and three members of the company’s board of directors.
Tesla is one of the most valuable companies in the world, and as its market capitalization continues to rise, so do the fortunes of its investors and its most senior employees, who receive stock-based compensation on top of their base salary.
Tesla shareholders will vote at the company’s annual meeting on Nov. 6, 2025, on whether to approve a plan that would give CEO Elon Musk a generous stock compensation plan for meeting certain company goals, including reaching a market capitalization of $8.5 trillion. Tesla’s market capitalization is around $1.5 trillion as of early October 2025.
Tesla executives will also benefit greatly from this ambitious plan as the company hands out options.
Here are the top five Tesla executives and directors with the largest stock-based compensation packages.
Elon Musk is Tesla’s largest individual shareholder. But some executives and directors also own a significant number of shares. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Elon Musk is Tesla’s largest individual shareholder, owning 19.8% of the company, according to a September 2025 proxy statement. Other executives and directors also own significant parts of the company based on Tesla’s beneficial ownership calculation, including shares held directly and in trusts, as well as stock options.
Of the five who had the highest stock compensation other than Elon Musk, two are chief executive officers (NEOs) and three are directors. Although directors are not direct employees, Tesla, according to its Corporate Governance Guidelines, expects board members who have their own specialties to contribute to Tesla to “invest the time and effort necessary to understand and oversee the implementation of the Company’s business and financial strategies, including, but not limited to, in areas such as sustainability and AI (artificial intelligence).”
Musk’s actual 19.8% stake in Tesla translates to about $286 billion based on its stock price in early October, and that dwarfs the ownership of all other employees. Still, his two most trusted executives, Xiaotong (Tom) Zhu and Vaibhav Taneja, own shares that could make them billionaires several times over if Tesla’s 2025 CEO Performance Award plan plays out successfully.
Among the company’s employees, CEO Tom Zhu Xiaotong is one of Tesla’s largest shareholders.
Position: CEO (Senior Vice President of Automotive)
Beneficially owned shares: 2,178,508
Market value of shares at the beginning of October 2025: $948 million
Tom Zhu is senior vice president for the Asia-Pacific region and global vehicle manufacturing, and plays a crucial role in Tesla’s projects in China, which is the second-largest market for its electric vehicles. China accounted for more than a third of total vehicles delivered globally in 2024.
Zhu joined Tesla in 2014 and led the construction and operations of Gigafactory Shanghai. He has more than 2.1 million shares, valued at around $948 million in October 2025.
Elon Musk’s younger brother, Kimbal, sits on Tesla’s board of directors and is one of the company’s largest individual shareholders.
Position: Director
Beneficially owned shares: 1,463,220
Market value of shares at the beginning of October 2025: $637 million
Kimbal Musk is Elon’s younger brother. His Tesla biography describes him as an entrepreneur who co-founded and invested in companies in the technology, hospitality, entertainment and agriculture sectors. He and Elon co-founded Zip2 Corporation, the online mapping service whose 1999 sale to Compaq contributed to Elon’s rise in wealth.
Tesla’s proxy statement said Kimbal Musk has “a strong understanding of mission-driven companies.” He joined Tesla’s board of directors in 2004 and was also on the board of SpaceX, another of Elon’s companies, from 2002 to 2022.
Position: CFO
Beneficially owned shares: 1,251,002
Market value of shares at the beginning of October 2025: $544 million
Vaibhav Taneja, a certified public accountant, joined Tesla as assistant corporate controller in 2017, when Tesla purchased SolarCity, his former employer. He has served as the company’s chief financial officer since 2023. Taneja has helped guide Tesla to financial stability as it moved to become the world’s most valuable automotive company.
Position: Director
Beneficially owned shares: 855,394
Market value of shares at the beginning of October 2025: $372 million
Ehrenpreis has been a director since 2007. With nearly three decades as a venture capitalist, he is valued at Tesla for providing “the company with stability and experience as it navigates different challenges.”
His experience is in the energy, technology and venture capital industries. As a member of the board of directors, Ehrenpreis is chairman of the remuneration committee.
James Murdoch sits on Tesla’s board of directors and also owns hundreds of thousands of shares in the company.
Position: Director
Beneficially owned shares: 794,306
Market value of shares at the beginning of October 2025: $345 million
Murdoch has been a director since 2017 and, according to Tesla, brings to the company “his extensive knowledge of international markets and strategies and his experience in the adoption of new technologies.” Murdoch is the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and served on the board of directors of News Corporation from 2013 to 2020.
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on October 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the Biography and Net Worth of Business Leaders and Celebrities section. Add TheStreet as a preferred source by clicking here.
