Tesla’s finance chief was paid a record $139m (£104m) last year despite collapsing sales at the electric carmaker.
Vaibhav Taneja, who has worked at Tesla since 2017 and took over as chief financial officer in 2023, took home the huge pay cheque thanks to stock options and equity awards linked to his promotion. His base salary stands at $400,000.
The figure eclipses the pay of most chief executives and is thought to be the highest pay for a finance chief since records began in 2006.
The bumper pay came even as Tesla reels from a huge slump in sales amid a political backlash against Elon Musk, the chief executive.
The carmaker posted its biggest drop in sales for more than a decade in the first quarter, with the number of vehicles delivered tumbling 13pc to 336,681.
It marked the biggest annual decline in sales since 2012, when the company only sold a handful of cars each month.
Mr Musk and his company have been targeted by widespread protests over his support for Donald Trump and his unofficial role in the US administration’s Doge (department of government efficiency) cost-cutting unit.
The Tesla founder last month said he will “significantly” cut back his role in the US government to focus on his electric vehicle company.
Mr Taneja’s rising pay comes even as Mr Musk continues to receive no salary from the carmaker.
The world’s richest man has been locked in a legal battle for seven years over his record-breaking $56bn pay award from Tesla.
A Delaware court has blocked the pay packet due to concerns the figure was excessive and after ruling Tesla had failed to prove it was fair.
Judge Kathaleen McCormick accused Tesla’s board of being too submissive towards Mr Musk, saying they were “like supine servants of an overweening master”.
The decision to block the pay was upheld in December. Tesla last month said it has formed a special committee to consider compensation for Mr Musk, suggesting the company is now trying to draw up a new pay deal.
There have also been reports that the board has begun drawing up plans to replace Mr Musk, although the company has denied this.
Mr Musk’s pay is largely linked to Tesla stock options. The tycoon has previously threatened to leave the electric carmaker and take its artificial intelligence and robotics capabilities elsewhere unless he was granted more control.
Mr Musk has a separate AI company, which he merged with his social media platform X earlier this year.
In a regulatory filing last month, Tesla said: “In 2024, we reviewed our compensation programs with respect to our senior executives to align our compensation programs to their intended purposes, including striving to offer a total level of compensation that reflects individual performance to be competitive within specific roles and geographical markets, and to provide appropriate retentive impact in light of currently outstanding equity awards.”
