As Tesla owner’s wealth nears $1 trillion, inequality in U.S. worsens: in Australia Oxfam Australia is calling on the federal government to tax the super-rich to help tackle growing inequality - report shows
Analysis argues tax havens help power Musk’s fortune
By Andrea Guzmán
Staff Writer
A new report from global nonprofit Oxfam argues that Tesla Inc.’s corporate practices have helped build Elon Musk’s massive fortune while widening economic inequality in the United States. Musk, whose net worth is about $668 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, is far wealthier than the next richest person, Google co-founder Larry Page, with a net worth of roughly $259 billion.
Oxfam argues Tesla’s business practices have helped fuel that wealth accumulation. The nonprofit says the company strategically uses tax havens, maintains what it describes as an illusion of corporate oversight, takes a selective approach to labor rights and relies on Musk’s influence with the U.S. government to reduce regulatory scrutiny.
Oxfam’s analysis arrives months after Tesla shareholders approved a highly contested pay package for Musk that could give him enough stock to eventually make him a trillionaire and about 29% control of the company if he meets goals outlined in a 10-year performance plan.
After SpaceX acquired xAI in February, Musk’s wealth briefly rose to a record $852 billion.
Irit Tamir, Oxfam America’s senior director of corporate accountability and worker justice, said the organization took another look at Tesla as Musk approaches trillionaire status. Previously, Oxfam had examined Tesla’s decision to base CEO pay entirely on stock incentives, noting that the move encouraged other companies to restructure their CEO compensation.
“We’re really trying to have people understand that it’s not because these people are working any harder than others,” Tamir said. “It is really a rigged system that’s creating this billionaire wealth and it’s happening primarily through ownership structures and practices, exploitation and a rigged system that’s allowing corporations to funnel money to these very wealthy shareholders.”
Oxfam analyzed Tesla’s impact using its “Corporate Inequality Framework,” which assesses corporations through its approach to people, power, profits and the planet. That includes how Tesla treats employees and others impacted by the company, competitive behavior and political influence, CEO pay and environmental justice.
The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
As Musk campaigned for his controversial pay package, employees at Tesla experienced pay disparities far exceeding typical CEO-worker gaps, according to the report. On average, Musk made over 4,000 times more than the median annual salary for Tesla employees from 2020 to 2024. Meanwhile, the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio for S&P 500 companies was 285 to 1 in 2024.
Beyond pay disparities and alleged anti-union activity, Oxfam’s analysis points to Tesla lacking a policy on responsible tax practices, not publishing a country-by-country report on tax payments in many countries where it operates, and having subsidiaries located in countries designated as tax havens.
The Austin automaker has also been a major beneficiary of taxpayer dollars, the organization said.
For example, a $465 million Energy Department loan provided in 2010 allowed Tesla to create one of its earliest vehicles, the Model S. After repaying the loan, Musk thanked “the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate.”
“I hope we did you proud,” Musk said in a 2013 news release.
Tesla has also received billions in rebates and tax credits from California. And in Travis County, Tesla has a tax incentive deal that hinges on benchmarks surrounding headcount, a minimum $15 an hour wage and annual community investments. Late last year, Tesla was accused of withholding key information from Travis County regarding the tax incentive deal.
“The dynamic that you’re seeing in Austin and Travis County is not unusual,” Tamir said. “Unfortunately, I think it’s more the norm than the exception. For a long time now, Oxfam has been seeing multinational corporations circle the globe for low wages and weak regulatory systems.”
Oxfam’s analysis also tackled Musk’s professional and political relationships as contributing to inequality.
For example, the board committee that shapes executive compensation and oversees Musk’s pay package lacks independence, Oxfam says. The organization points to board chair Robyn Denholm, whose wealth is largely tied to Tesla stock, and Musk’s brother Kimbal also being on the board.
Oxfam’s report argues that Musk’s political relationships, including his previous role in the Trump administration, benefited Tesla after the former Department of Government Efficiency made cuts to agencies responsible for oversight of the company’s business practices, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the National Labor Relations Board and the Department of Labor, Oxfam’s analysis says.
If Musk reaches trillionaire status, Oxfam calculated how that amount of wealth could be stretched beyond Musk’s individual use. A trillion dollars, Oxfam notes, could cover the GDPs of entire countries or pay the salaries of all 535 members of the U.S. House of Representatives for the next 10,742 years.
As Musk continues his reign as the richest person in the world, his peers have also been analyzed by Oxfam. Another recent report by the organization calculated that the 12 richest billionaires have more wealth than the poorest half of humanity.
“That’s more than 4 billion people, and one in four people often can’t afford enough to eat,” Tamir said. “That’s just unconscionable in this day and age with this kind of money floating around.”
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