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How much does Elon Musk's security cost? · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Elon Musk
• 0:04
  podcast. This is a show.
• 0:06
  Where we discuss the critical crossroads, the shape SpaceX.
• 0:09
  Tesla X, The Boring Company and Neurolink.
• 0:13
  I'm your host, Will Walden. Tesla spent $2.4 million last
• 0:19
  year on Elon Musk's personal security, according to the
• 0:22
  company's most recent filing. Now that figure puts Musk in the
• 0:26
  same thing as other high profile CE OS Who's protection is
• 0:30
  required 24/7, but also raises a bigger question, how much of
• 0:34
  Tesla shareholder money should go toward safeguarding Elon
• 0:38
  Musk? The company disclosed the
• 0:40
  spending in a proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange
• 0:43
  Commission. Tesla frame.
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  The cost is necessary given Musk's role and public
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  visibility. His presence on social media,
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  polarizing comments, and also his political leanings and
• 0:55
  global recognition make him a security risk in ways that other
• 0:59
  business leaders do not face now.
• 1:01
  The company has repeatedly said this level of protection is
• 1:04
  essential and not optional now. The $2.4 million figure marked a
• 1:09
  slight increase from 2.2 million reported in 2022 from Tesla.
• 1:15
  And by comparison, Meta spent nearly 14,000,000 on security
• 1:19
  for Mark Zuckerberg in 2023, and Amazon spent over $1,000,000 to
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  protect Andy Jassy. Now, these figures show that
• 1:27
  shareholder backed security spending is common across the
• 1:30
  tech sector, though Musk falls closer to kind of the middle of
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  the pack here. Now, Tesla's disclosure places a
• 1:36
  spotlight on the financial balancing act between personal
• 1:39
  protection and corporate governance.
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  Shareholders accept these expenses because ACEO, like
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  Musk, carries both enormous influence and also elevated
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  risks. A Musk's outspoken presence on
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  X, his role in multiple companies, and his near
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  celebrity status combined to make him a huge target the few
• 1:58
  businesses could ignore. Now, corporate boards typically
• 2:01
  justify these costs as necessary for business continuity.
• 2:05
  Now, if Musk were unable to perform his duties because of a
• 2:08
  security failure, Tesla would face consequences far more
• 2:12
  costly than just a bill of protection.
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  That logic makes the security spending easier to defend, but
• 2:18
  also sparks debate about how far companies should go in paying
• 2:21
  for executive safety. Should these executives pay for
• 2:24
  it themselves, or should the company pay for it now?
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  Tesla's filing did not break down the spending in detail,
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  though, but past disclosures from other companies suggest the
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  bulk goes toward private security staff and secure
• 2:38
  travel. Know Mark Zuckerberg's expenses,
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  for example, cover residential security and personal protection
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  while traveling. Musk's globe spanning schedule
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  from factory visits to space launches at Star Base, Texas,
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  likely demands a similar complex arrangement.
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  Now. One factor that sets Musk apart
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  from his peers is the way his personal brand overlaps with
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  Tesla's public image. Musk doesn't operate in the
• 3:03
  background. He tweets, jokes around
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  political commentary, argues with a lot of people in front of
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  millions of people on Twitter, making himself inseparable from
• 3:16
  the company's identity. Now, that constant exposure
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  multiplies the security risks, which may explain why Tesla sees
• 3:24
  his protection as a core business expense rather than a
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  perk. The regulators.
• 3:29
  Have occasionally pressed companies to clarify how the
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  security arrangements are justified.
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  The SEC requires firms to disclose when personal security
• 3:38
  is treated as a business expense rather than taxable
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  compensation. And now, by categorizing Musk's
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  protection is necessary for his role, Tesla avoids listing.
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  It is a additional pay, which could draw shareholder
• 3:52
  criticism. Now, the costs also reflect the
• 3:55
  broader reality of modern corporate leadership.
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  Executives who double as public figures face threats that extend
• 4:01
  beyond financial concerns, and boards have to weigh those risks
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  against shareholder expectations.
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  Musk, more than most, embodies this tension because his
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  influence stretches across Tesla, Space XX and XAI.
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  Any disruption to him directly effects multiple multi billion
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  dollar enterprises. Now, of course, shareholders
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  will ultimately decide whether these expenses align with her
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  expectations for Tesla's governance.
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  The vote on it. But for now, $2.4 million looks
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  like a relatively modest price for protecting the person who's
• 4:36
  defined the company's trajectory for around 20 years.
• 4:41
  Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
• 4:42
  I really do appreciate your support.
• 4:44
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  miss an episode. And each episode is about 10
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• 5:01
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• 5:04
  to atreoncom. Stage 0.
• 5:08
  And please take care of yourselves and each other, and
• 5:10
  I'll see you tomorrow.