Tesla disclosed it spent $2.8 million to protect Elon Musk in 2024 â roughly $54,000 a week paid to a Musk-owned company â a mid-range figure compared with other tech giants that collectively spent about $27 million on CEO security, a tiny fraction of their market value but an expense investors should watch as costs creep up.
Teslaâs 2025 proxy statement shows the company spent $2.8 million on security for CEO Elon Musk in 2024, including payments of about $54,000 per week to a company owned by Musk. The filing also notes an additional $500,000 in security costs in JanuaryâFebruary 2025 (about $63,000 per week), signaling a recent bump in spending.
Looking across the so-called Magnificent Seven, Teslaâs Musk is neither the cheapest nor the priciest to protect. Meta led the pack with $10.4 million spent on security for Mark Zuckerberg in 2024. Alphabet reported $8.3 million for Sundar Pichai, Nvidia disclosed $3.5 million for Jensen Huang, and Appleâs figure was just under $800,000 for Tim Cook. Amazon reported $1.1 million for Andy Jassy while Microsoft logged $58,291 related to personal-travel security for Satya Nadella. Together, those CEO security bills add up to roughly $27 million last year.
Despite some eye-catching dollar amounts, these annual security costs are minuscule relative to the combined market values of the companies involved â roughly 0.0001% of their combined market caps. That means, for now, most investors consider these outlays affordable insurance for high-profile executives. Still, companies flagged that security spending is likely to rise.
Proxies cite a range of services: personal protection, security-related travel, and board-approved executive security programs assessed independently (Nvidia explicitly referenced that rationale). For some CEOs, spending reflects their profile and public visibility; for others itâs limited to travel protection or discrete services.
One eyebrow-raising detail: Tesla pays a company owned by Musk for his security. That arrangement is disclosed in the proxy; such related-party payments often draw investor scrutiny and are usually explained to the board in governance disclosures. Investors may want to monitor how boards justify and audit these arrangements as spending rises.
⢠Tesla spent $2.8M on Muskâs security in 2024 and paid about $54K/week to a Musk-owned company; an extra $500K was spent in early 2025.
⢠CEO security for the Magnificent Seven totaled roughly $27M in 2024 (Meta $10.4M; Alphabet $8.3M; Nvidia $3.5M; Apple $58K).
⢠These costs are tiny relative to market caps (~0.0001%), but companies expect security spending to rise.
⢠Related-party payments (Tesla â Musk-owned firm) may merit extra governance scrutiny.
⢠For most investors, the issue is not immediate materiality â but trends, transparency and governance matter if spending accelerates.
