- Musk has reacted angrily to judge’s decision to not reinstate pay award
- Dispute is about proposed $56 billion pay award
- Judge rejected pay deal as it could be proved to be fair
Elon Musk has taken to social media to voice his anger at a judge’s decision to not reinstate his world record $56 billion pay award for his role as chief executive of car maker Tesla.
Shareholders should control votes
The pay award had been approved by Tesla’s shareholders and board members, but this has been overruled by a judge in Delaware. Judge Kathaleen McCormick previously ruled that the pay award was not fair back in January, saying they had been too heavily influenced by Musk. She added that Tesla failed to provide that the package, which dates back to 2018, was fair.
Unsurprisingly, Musk has taken to X (which is still called Twitter by many), which he also owns, to voice his anger at the decision. “Shareholders should control company votes, not judges,” he said.
Appeal coming
Tesla has also taken to X to register its opposition to the ruling. In a post on X from its account, the car makers said it would appeal against the decision, which it called “wrong.”
The car company added: “The ruling, if not overturned, means that judges and plaintiffs’ lawyers run Delaware companies rather than their rightful owners – the shareholders.”
Tesla shareholders passed the pay deal by 75% in June. However, judge McCormick did not agree with the size of the pay deal, despite arguments from Tesla’s lawyers.
The case was brought by a dissenting Tesla shareholder. The judge also ruled they should receive $354 million in fees but not the $5.6 billion in Tesla shares they had wanted.
Tesla could, as well as appealing, reconstitute a similar pay package in Texas, where the company has moved its legal base to, following the ruling in Delaware.
Elsewhere, Musk has set up a new company recently, launching an AI-powered game studio under his company xAI.
