Average pay for S&P 500 chief executives climbed 21% in 2025 to a record $22.8 million, excluding Elon Musk, according to the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations' annual Executive Paywatch report. Including Musk's Tesla award, average compensation jumped to $340 million and the CEO-to-worker pay ratio rose to 5,387-to-1, versus 312-to-1 excluding him and 285-to-1 in 2024. The labor group said Musk's 2025 Tesla compensation was valued at $158 billion, equal to 14 times the combined pay of all other S&P 500 CEOs and 2,522,203 times the median Tesla employee's pay. The report said Musk's package exceeded the value of all products Tesla sold in 2025 and was 41 times the company's net income for the year. It arrives as investors and labor groups debate a Tesla restricted stock incentive plan approved last November that could make Musk's performance-based hurdles irrelevant if Tesla merges with or is acquired by another company, with the payout instead tied to Tesla's market value or the deal price. The clause has fueled speculation about a possible merger with SpaceX. AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond said Musk's package "changed the game" for boards designing large executive awards.