The Delaware Supreme Court has reinstated a $55 billion compensation package for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, reversing a lower court’s decision that ruled the 2018 deal unfair to shareholders.
The ruling, issued Friday, highlighted numerous errors in the earlier judgment and awarded Tesla nominal damages of $1.
Musk, whose net worth is approximately $679 billion, had appealed the January 2024 ruling by Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick, who stripped Musk of the pay package after a Tesla investor filed a lawsuit. McCormick ruled that the board overseeing the agreement was influenced by Musk, based in part on a trial testimony he gave in 2022.
In a 49-page opinion, the Supreme Court noted procedural flaws in McCormick’s analysis, restoring the incentive plan designed to drive Tesla’s expansion….