Elon Musk stands ringside during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden. November 16, 2024. At right, an electric car charges at an EV charging station in Oklahoma City.
© BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images + © Brad Penner-Imagn Images
(Wilmington, DE) – Somehow, we figure Elon Musk will manage. But the Tesla CEO — AKA the world’s richest man — was just denied a $56 billion pay package from the company’s shareholders. That’s despite the shareholders voting for the pay package in 2018.
The judge in the case, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, maintains that Musk influenced the vote and process behind it. In January she concluded that “Musk improperly controlled the 2018 board process to negotiate the pay package.” She argues board directors were not actually independent as they should have been. And she maintains shareholders did not properly understand how achievable the package’s goals were — triggering the $56 billion pay package. A lawsuit from a shareholder touched off the proceedings.
Tesla has said it plans to appeal the decision. Musk referred to the ruling as “absolute corruption.” He has drawn attention to McCormick’s past and says she is politically biased against him. Democratic Governor John Carney appointed her — and it’s fair to say most of her decisions fall in line with progressive approaches to corporate governance.
