- A US judge declares Tesla boss Elon Musk’s billion-dollar salary package invalid.
- According to the plaintiff, Musk “unjustly enriched himself” with the money.
- The judgment can be continued.
In 2018, Elon Musk received a salary package from electric car manufacturer Tesla that is now worth over $50 billion. He now has to worry about this money because: The judge in the US state of Delaware Kathaleen McCormick has decided that the billion-dollar salary package is invalid. “The verdict is in favor of the plaintiff,” said McCormick.
Musk and those responsible at Tesla could not prove that the salary package was awarded independently and fairly. According to US media, this package is said to have contributed to Elon Musk becoming one of the richest people in the world.
Musk “unjustly enriched himself”
Shareholder Richard Tornetta filed the lawsuit against Musk, Tesla and several members of the Tesla board of directors. Tornetta accused Musk of “unjust enrichment”. His lawyers argue, for example, that the package, which includes stock options, is excessive. Elon Musk himself dictated this to the Tesla board of directors. And: The decision-makers there were not independent, but were close to Musk.
The verdict is in favor of the plaintiff.
Musk himself initially reacted briefly on his short message service X. “Never register your company in the state of Delaware,” he wrote. The US state on the east coast is a tax haven for numerous US companies.
The judgment can be passed on to the next instance.