Musk Pay Victory Removes Cloud at Tesla, but Fresh Legal Fight Looms
Tesla shareholders once again approved Elon Musk’s roughly $48 billion pay package, but the CEO can’t expect a payday just yet. A legal expert explains how the case could play out. Photo: Jordan Strauss/Associated Press Tesla shareholders’ decrease; red down pointing triangle backing of Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar compensation package helps clarify his immediate future atop the world’s most valuable automaker. Now the electric-car company has to figure out how to pay him. Musk and Tesla face legal opposition to the stock-option deal that was passed in 2018, now valued at roughly $48 billion. The latest vote is also being challenged in court. The company’s board has argued that shareholder support for the plan would resolve concerns raised by the judge who rescinded the original plan, potentially leading the court to reverse its decision. Legal experts say the vote won’t automatically change the judge’s mind. For his part, Musk is enjoying the backing shown by Tesla shareholders and is trying to allay fears that he would turn his attention to his other companies—a concern among some shareholders should Musk have lost the vote. “I just want to start off by saying, ‘Hot damn, I love you guys,’” Musk said at the start of his remarks at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in Texas.
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