Elon Musk denied Tesla package valued over $100 billion

The world’s richest man, billionaire and now close advisor to Donald Trump, has again been denied by a judge a $51 billion payment in shares of Tesla, whose value has almost doubled to over $100 billion.

JUST IN: Elon Musk’s record-breaking pay package for serving as Tesla’s CEO has been rejected by a Delaware court, despite being approved by Tesla shareholders at a June meeting.

— CNN (@cnn.com) 2024-12-02T22:42:32.141Z

Although Tesla had approved the payment to Elon Musk, a Delaware judge ruled otherwise, rejecting the gigantic billionaire’s payment for a second time.

After denying the same payment last January, the judge sided with a major shareholder in the lawsuit, who challenged the package, saying Musk had failed to prove the compensation plan was fair.

In this second refusal, the judge considers that, although the package had once again been ratified by a majority of shareholders (over 84%), excluding Musk’s own shares and those of his brother Kimbal Musk, this did not mean that Musk’s colossal remuneration was in the shareholders’ interest.

She therefore argues that even if the majority of shareholders approved the plan, this was not enough to justify a remuneration that the judge considers unfair or inappropriate for shareholders, and the legal arguments put forward by the defense were not sufficiently strong.

While Tesla’s board argued that it was essential to maintain Musk’s salary package to keep him engaged in Tesla’s management, the judge felt that the board was too close to the CEO. She pointed out that Elon Musk himself had acknowledged that he had “negotiated solely with himself” his own remuneration.

She added that, although Musk was entitled to some compensation, the final reward was not fair to other shareholders.