Sen. Bernie Sanders fired off another salvo at Elon Musk over the weekend, taking aim at the Tesla Inc. (TSLA) CEO's shareholder-approved $1 trillion compensation package. In his post on X, Sanders made a stark comparison: Musk's 10-year pay deal exceeds the combined salaries of every elementary school teacher, cashier, restaurant cook, farmworker, and bartender in America.
His conclusion? "Insanity. Billionaire tax now."
How the Compensation Actually Works
This isn't your typical executive pay package. The structure is the first of its kind in global corporate history, designed specifically to incentivize Musk's performance through aggressive targets. If he doesn't hit the milestones, he doesn't get paid.
Tesla shareholders gave it their blessing in November with more than 75% support. The compensation consists of 12 separate tranches, each tied to market capitalization milestones that start at $2 trillion and climb all the way to $8.5 trillion. To put that in perspective, Tesla's current market cap sits at $1.51 trillion.
Musk has ten years to unlock each grant. For every milestone he hits, he can receive 35.312 million shares, adding roughly 1% to his existing 16% stake in the company. He needs to achieve one market cap target and one operational target in any order to unlock each tranche.
The Political Backlash
Sanders has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of Musk's compensation arrangement. He's previously called it an "oligarchy" and "grossly immoral," arguing that Musk receives $1 trillion while Trump provides tax breaks, even as low-income children face cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
The criticism extends beyond Sanders. Rep. Dan Goldman has highlighted Musk's tax strategy, noting he paid just a 3.3% effective tax rate by taking tax-free loans against his stock holdings—the notorious "buy, borrow, die" approach that allows billionaires to access wealth without triggering taxable events.
Even Pope Leo XIV has weighed in on the broader issue of income inequality, criticizing CEO compensation that reaches 600 times worker wages, echoing Sanders' comparison of Musk's package to ordinary worker salaries.
California is moving forward with its own response: the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, which would impose a 5% tax on the net worth of the state's wealthiest residents.
Tesla's Market Performance
While the political debate rages, Tesla stock has been on a tear. Shares have climbed 23.14% over the past year and jumped 59.82% over the past six months. The stock trades in an annual range of $214.25 to $488.54, with market data indicating positive price trends across all time frames.