General Discussion

“This is what oligarchy looks like”: Musk’s $1 trillion deal draws fierce criticism
Even Pope Leo XIV condemned Musk's trillionaire status
By GARRETT OWEN
National Affairs Fellow
PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 7, 2025 12:32PM (EST)

If Tesla CEO Elon Musk meets certain milestones for the tech company’s market share and operational performance over the next decade, he’ll get a $1 trillion compensation package — worth more than the GDP of Switzerland or Poland. Such goals include more than doubling the number of Tesla vehicles delivered, from 8 million to 20 million, and raising operating profit from $16.6 billion to $400 billion, according to AP.

Even as the tech billionaire celebrates the shareholder vote, critics are viewing the recent deal less as an reward for innovation or leadership and more of a symptom of out-of-control inequality.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a staunch opponent of billionaires, called the move by Tesla “obscene.”

“If you’re Elon Musk, the richest man alive, Tesla gives you a $1 trillion pay package and Trump gives you a huge tax break,” Sanders wrote on X. “If you’re a poor kid on SNAP, Trump appeals a court decision that would have prevented you from going hungry.”

Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-Texas, called Musk out for wanting “to become a trillionaire off the backs of American taxpayers,” while blaming Tesla shareholders.

“How do we make it in America with greedy hogs like this, that just want to screw us, over and over again?” Gutierrez said in a video on Thursday.