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Elon Musk recently announced his resignation from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), concluding his 130-day role assigned in January 2025 within the Trump administration. Musk indicated he will now concentrate on his business interests, which encountered losses linked to his government affiliation.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Musk returned to Tesla and demanded a bigger stake from the board compared to his previous salary. The report showed that the Tesla CEO was the least paid in 2024 compared to other top executives. Musk confirmed that Tesla paid him the least amount of $0 (zero US dollars) for seven years despite having grown its value by 2000%.
Tesla's board threw away Musk's previous $56 billion package following a court ruling and is in a race to formulate a new one. Business Standard reported that Tesla established a special committee to devise a potential new compensation structure for Musk. Musk's new pay could range somewhere around the world's highest-paid CEO in 2024, the report noted. In 2024, the top-paid CEO earned $165 million.
Meanwhile, Musk's net worth also dropped significantly in March 2025, following his role at the Department of Government Efficiency. Tesla vehicles were set on fire during the period as shares in the company plummeted following the move.
However, Forbes reported a fresh surge in Musk's wealth starting May 2025, following growth in Tesla shares. Musk's net worth is estimated at $415.7 billion, backed with shares from Tesla, other companies owned by the billionaire, including SpaceX and AI venture xAI, and the X platform.
The world's richest man launched XChat, a messaging app that comes with encryption features and disappearing messages and rivals WhatsApp, Messenger, and Snapchat. Musk amassed his wealth from innovation and entrepreneurship, which earned him a self-made score of eight (8) on Forbes, and also founded several companies. The companies Musk founded and sold include PayPal, OpenAI, Zip2, and SolarCity, which he sold but are now thriving.
