Two Ways To $139 Million: Be Tesla’s CFO, Or Win Mega Millions

Here’s a way to earn $139 million: become Tesla’s chief financial officer.

That was the pay package last year for Tesla’s CFO, Vaibhav Taneja, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Apparently, that’s a new record for CFO pay, as the paper detailed before we here at Lottery Geeks hit the paywall. (We make slightly less than $139 million per anum.)

The previous record was held by Kim Brady, who made $86 million working for Nikola in 2020. We think — but we’re not sure — that Nikola is the company that was formed when Finnish tech firm Nokia merged with Swiss cough drop firm Ricola, but again, we’re not sure. (Editor’s Note: Nope.)

Anyway, $139 million is a ton of money, especially for a company that missed estimates, saw its net income decline, and watched as hundreds of thousands of Tesla owners who drink oat milk and don’t even use pronouns of any kind experienced some buyer’s remorse.

Anyhoo, here’s another way to earn $139 million (or, actually, $138,999,995): Buy a $5 ticket for Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing, as that’s the estimated jackpot. (The lump-sum cash option is worth $62.3 million.)

Nobody won last Friday night’s drawing for an estimated $122 million — numbers 2, 22, 42, 62, 66, and a gold Mega Ball of 14 — nor did anyone hit all five white balls for a $1 million (times Megaplier) prize.

Lottery Geeks estimates 5 million tickets were sold for Friday’s drawing.

Powerball powers along

Nobody won Monday night’s Powerball jackpot, moving Wednesday night’s haul to an estimated $146 million, or $65.6 million as a cash prize.

Monday’s numbers — 13, 14, 37, 50, 60, and a red Powerball of 11 — also yielded the sum total of zero million-dollar winners.

Lottery Geeks estimates 8.2 million tickets were sold for Monday’s drawing.

Tickets for Mega Millions cost $5, while Powerball tickets cost $2, with most states offering the multiplier option for Powerball — which impacts any prize won except the jackpot — for an additional $1. Mega Millions comes with an automatic multiplier for any prize except the jackpot.

Both Powerball and Mega Millions are legal in all states except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Tickets for both draw games are also sold in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, customers can buy tickets for Powerball, but not for Mega Millions.

All-time biggest jackpots

Here is a list of the all-time top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
3. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
4. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
5. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
6. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
7. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
8. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
9. $1.22 billion, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California
10. $1.13 billion, Mega Millions, March 26, 2024, won in New Jersey

And here’s the all-time top 10 by lump-sum cash value:

1. $997.6 million, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $983.5 million, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
3. $877.8 million, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
4. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
5. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
6. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
7. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
8. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
9. $621 million, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon
10. $571.9 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, won in California