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Hey everybody. 
Welcome back to the Elon Musk 

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podcast. 
This is a show. 

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Where we discuss the critical 
crossroads, the shape SpaceX. 

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Tesla X, The Boring Company and 
Neurolink. 

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I'm your host, Will Walden. 
Tesla spent $2.4 million last 

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year on Elon Musk's personal 
security, according to the 

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company's most recent filing. 
Now that figure puts Musk in the

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same thing as other high profile
CE OS Who's protection is 

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required 24/7, but also raises a
bigger question, how much of 

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Tesla shareholder money should 
go toward safeguarding Elon 

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Musk? 
The company disclosed the 

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spending in a proxy filing with 
the Securities and Exchange 

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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 

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global recognition make him a 
security risk in ways that other

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business leaders do not face 
now. 

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The company has repeatedly said 
this level of protection is 

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essential and not optional now. 
The $2.4 million figure marked a

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slight increase from 2.2 million
reported in 2022 from Tesla. 

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And by comparison, Meta spent 
nearly 14,000,000 on security 

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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 

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shareholder backed security 
spending is common across the 

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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

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spotlight on the financial 
balancing act between personal 

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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 

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businesses could ignore. 
Now, corporate boards typically 

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justify these costs as necessary
for business continuity. 

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Now, if Musk were unable to 
perform his duties because of a 

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security failure, Tesla would 
face consequences far more 

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costly than just a bill of 
protection. 

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That logic makes the security 
spending easier to defend, but 

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also sparks debate about how far
companies should go in paying 

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for executive safety. 
Should these executives pay for 

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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 

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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 

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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 

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the company's identity. 
Now, that constant exposure 

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multiplies the security risks, 
which may explain why Tesla sees

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his protection as a core 
business expense rather than a 

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perk. 
The regulators. 

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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 

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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 

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criticism. 
Now, the costs also reflect the 

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broader reality of modern 
corporate leadership. 

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Executives who double as public 
figures face threats that extend

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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 

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defined the company's trajectory
for around 20 years. 

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Hey, thank you so much for 
listening today. 

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I really do appreciate your 
support. 

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If you could take a second and 
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Stage 0. 

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And please take care of 
yourselves and each other, and 

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I'll see you tomorrow.