$55bn | Court restores Elon Musk pay package after Tesla appeal

The Delaware Supreme Court has reversed a lower court ruling that had voided Elon Musk’s 2018 Tesla compensation package, reinstating the award while still finding aspects of the process inequitable.

The decision restores a performance based pay plan originally approved by Tesla shareholders in 2018 and valued at about $55billion at the time. At current share prices, the award is worth significantly more if all milestones are met.

While reinstating the package, the court imposed nominal damages of $1 on Musk and ordered that the plaintiffs’ legal team recover attorneys’ fees, which are expected to total hundreds of millions of dollars.

Court weighs remedy options

The ruling overturns a prior decision by the Delaware Court of Chancery, which had rescinded the entire compensation award after finding that Tesla misled shareholders and that the board lacked independence when it approved the deal.