CEO Total Pay
$8.8M
FY2023 Summary Compensation, near median
NKLA FY2023 SEC EDGAR DEF 14A
Nikola Corp CEO pay ratio
The CEO earned $8.8M in FY2023 against median worker pay of $137,272 · Transportation Equipment.
- State
- DE
- Filing date
- 2024-04-24
- Industry
- Transportation Equipment
- Fiscal year
- FY2023
Data updated August 2026
CEO-to-worker pay ratio
64:1
Moderate (Scale: 0–1000:1)
CEO pay
$8.8M
Median worker
$137,272
Latest filing FY2023. This company's newest DEF 14A on file is for FY2023, not FY2025, so the figures on this page are from that earlier year and are not ranked against the FY2025 industry benchmark. Industry pages mark issuers like this one with a "Latest filing" label.
Answer first
Nikola Corp reported a 64:1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio in FY2023 - at or below the Transportation Equipment median of 166:1 across 41 filers.
Figures come from Section 953(b) Dodd-Frank DEF 14A disclosures - not estimates. View all Transportation Equipment companies.
- Pay ratio
- 64:1
- FY2023 disclosed
- CEO total
- $8.8M
- Summary Compensation Table total
- Median worker
- $137,272
- Dodd-Frank median employee
Ratio bands among Transportation Equipment peers
Exclusive CEO-to-median-worker bands across 35 complete latest-FY filings in SIC 37. Segments sum to the peer set, not this company's compensation pillar.
CEO Compensation Breakdown, FY2023
A component-level pay breakdown is not reported in Nikola Corp's structured SEC pay-ratio disclosure. See our methodology →
Filing-year trail · Nikola Corp
Complete DEF 14A pay-ratio filings for this CIK across FY2021–2023. Year-over-year deltas compare adjacent filing years only; incomplete dollar rows are omitted (same completeness gate as the hero figures).
- Latest ratio
- 64:1
- FY2023
- vs prior FY
- -19:1
- from FY2022 83:1
- CEO $ YoY
- -6.8%
- $8.8M latest
- Filings shown
- 3
- FY2021–2023
| FY | CEO pay | Δ pay | Median worker | Pay ratio | Δ ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $5.6M | - | $133,563 | 42:1 | - |
| 2022 | $9.4M | +68% | $113,722 | 83:1 | +41:1 |
| 2023 | $8.8M | -6.8% | $137,272 | 64:1 | -19:1 |
Source: SEC EDGAR DEF 14A pay-ratio disclosures for CIK 1731289, FY2021–2023. Adjacent-year deltas only.
Industry Comparison - Transportation Equipment
This Company's Ratio
64:1
Industry Median Ratio
166:1
Industry Median CEO Pay
$8.4M
This CEO's Pay
$8.8M
Companies in Industry
41
vs. Industry Median
Below
Nikola Corp: MODEST · HEAVY pay ratio
Nikola Corp disclosed 64:1 CEO-to-worker pay and $8.8M CEO total in FY2023. the CEO earned 64× the median employee ($137,272) in FY2023.
Median employee $137,272 (ELITE-MED); MODEST · HEAVY stamps put about 64 median-wage years per CEO year.
Pay Ratio
64:1
Near industry median
What FY2023 shows for Nikola Corp
Nikola Corp disclosed 64:1 CEO-to-worker pay and $8.8M CEO total in FY2023. The structured pay-ratio disclosure reports the total without line-item components. Transportation Equipment (SIC 37) median ratio is 166:1 across 41 FY2025 filers; Nikola Corp's $8.8M CEO total is above the $8.4M industry median CEO pay.
Nikola Corp stamps MODEST · HEAVY · ELITE-MED; grant-date fair value (not realized pay) is what the DEF 14A reports. Open Transportation Equipment peers.
Key Data, FY2023
- Total Compensation
- $8.8M
- Median Employee Pay
- $137,272
- Pay Ratio
- 64:1
- Filing Date
- 2024-04-24
Company Info
- Ticker
- NKLA
- CIK
- 1731289
- Industry
- Transportation Equipment
- SIC Code
- 3711
- State
- DE
SEC EDGAR DEF 14A for CIK 1731289, FY2023. Informational only, not investment advice. Verify on EDGAR.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified. Nikola Corp disclosed 64:1 CEO-to-worker pay and $8.8M CEO total in FY2023.
Read with Nikola Corp
ABS(ceo_total_comp) peers first, then a SIC pole and a stamp-branched guide - not a fixed Related strip. This page stamps MODEST · HEAVY · ELITE-MED.
Douglas Elliman Inc. · HEAVY
ABS(ceo_total_comp) peer at $8.8M (Δ $7K lighter vs Nikola Corp); MID · PAR-MED vs this page's MODEST · HEAVY · ELITE-MED.
Epr Properties · HEAVY
ABS(ceo_total_comp) peer at $8.8M (Δ $8K heavier vs Nikola Corp); MODEST · ELITE-MED vs this page's MODEST · HEAVY · ELITE-MED.
Avnet Inc · HEAVY
ABS(ceo_total_comp) peer at $8.8M (Δ $8K lighter vs Nikola Corp); STEEP · PAR-MED vs this page's MODEST · HEAVY · ELITE-MED.
Cinemark Holdings, Inc. · HEAVY
ABS(ceo_total_comp) peer at $8.8M (Δ $8K heavier vs Nikola Corp); EXTREME · LOW-MED vs this page's MODEST · HEAVY · ELITE-MED.
Transportation Equipment benchmark
Nikola Corp stamps MODEST · HEAVY · ELITE-MED inside SIC 37 - open the industry median board after the ABS peers.
Pay-ratio rankings · MODEST
See where MODEST · HEAVY packages sit on the national leaderboard after reading Nikola Corp.
Ratio primer · MODEST
Nikola Corp's MODEST stamp sits in the lower Item 402(u) band - start with how the ratio is disclosed before comparing peers.
Data sourced from SEC EDGAR DEF 14A for Nikola Corp (CIK 1731289), FY2023. See our methodology. Aggregated by PlainCEOPay as of August 2026.
Data currency: Executive compensation from SEC EDGAR DEF 14A proxy statements through fiscal year 2025, compiled and last refreshed August 2026. See our methodology for source dates and refresh cadence. Spot a figure that looks wrong? Report a correction.