Pope Leo XIV put Austin-based Tesla Inc. and CEO Elon Musk at the center of a sharp critique of runaway executive compensation in his first formal media interview.
“One which I think is very significant is the continuously wider gap between the income levels of the working class and the money that the wealthiest receive,” he told Catholic news outlet Crux in excerpts released Sunday.
The pontiff, a Chicago native and the first North American pope, framed the issue as a moral test for modern economies, challenging a culture that equates worth with wealth.
“What does that mean and what’s that about?” he said. “If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble.”
His remarks came after the Tesla board proposed a new compensation plan that could see Musk receive up to 12% of the company in 12 stock-based markets — a plan potentially worth about $1 trillion if all targets are met — tied to major gains in vehicle production, share price, and operating profit.
Musk figured prominently in the pope’s discussion.
“Yesterday (there was) the news that Elon Musk is going to be the first trillionaire in the world,” Leo said.
Musk purchased about $1 billion of Tesla stock on Friday, a personal vote of confidence in the company that sent shares up more than 6% by mid-morning Monday. With the rally, Tesla is now up about 4% year-to-date, rebounding from a roughly 45% decline as of early April.
Leo contrasted current norms with earlier eras, arguing that the spread between boardroom and shop floor has exploded.
“CEOs that 60 years ago might have been making four to six times more than what the workers are receiving … 600 times more (now),” he said.
Musk, currently the world’s richest person, briefly lost that title last week to fellow Austin tech mogul Larry Ellison before reclaiming it, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Musk first captured the title of world’s richest person in 2021 and has traded the spot with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and LVMH chief Bernard Arnault over the past three years.
Tesla has more than 22,000 employees in the Austin area, making it one of the city’s largest private employers; H‑E‑B remains No. 1. But the company also has cut thousands of jobs in recent years, including 2,688 Austin-area positions in 2024 as part of a broader restructuring that eliminated about 10% of its global workforce — roughly 14,000 jobs.