Tesla CEO's $56 Billion Pay Package Rejected by Delaware Judge

A Delaware judge has once again struck down Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk's pay package, worth about $56 billion, despite shareholder approval earlier this year.

Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen McCormick held true to her original ruling in January, when she voided Musk's compensation plan, arguing that the company's board was essentially under the billionaire entrepreneur's control back in 2018 when it adopted the plan and that the pay deal lacked transparency. Hoping to sway the judge, Tesla said the June 13 shareholder vote addressed many of the court's criticisms. "Even if a stockholder vote could have a ratifying effect, it could not do so here," McCormick wrote in her opinion on Monday.

Lawyers representing the shareholder who brought forth the original lawsuit were awarded $345 million in fees, with McCormick saying that the $5.6 billion in Tesla shares that they had requested was a "bold ask."