June 2024 shareholder vote doesn't fix problems in 2018 stock award, judge says.



A Delaware judge today rejected Elon Musk's bid to reinstate a Tesla pay package that was worth over $50billionatthebeginningof2024andhasnowcrossed$100 billion based on Tesla's latest share price. The judge also ordered Tesla to pay $345millioninattorney{s}^{\prime }feestotheplaintif{f}^{\prime }scounsel,whohadsought$5.6 billion in fees.

Delaware Court of Chancery Judge Kathaleen McCormick, who voided the pay plan in January, said today that a June 2024 shareholder vote re-approving the 2018 pay plan is not a compelling reason to reverse the original ruling. Her ruling said that a "large and talented group of defense firms got creative with the ratification argument, but their unprecedented theories go against multiple strains of settled law."

Musk is thus prevented from accessing a pay package whose potential value has soared along with Tesla's stock price. "As of Monday, the pay package was worth $101.4 billion, according to Equilar, a compensation consulting firm," Reuters wrote.

...read more at arstechnica.com