Dispute over compensation

Musk goes to court for Tesla billion-dollar package

Referring to the "incredible sum" of 56 billion dollars at the time, a judge denied Musk the share compensation.

(Bild: AFP)

The dispute over Tesla shares currently worth more than 100 billion dollars for company boss Elon Musk is entering the next round. The tech billionaire has appealed against the ruling of a judge in the US state of Delaware, which denied him the package. The case will now be heard by the Delaware Supreme Court.

Around a year ago, following a shareholder lawsuit, the judge ruled that the allocation of the package was unlawful. She argued that Musk had had too much influence in the background during negotiations with the board of directors of the electric car manufacturer - and that this had been concealed from the shareholders.

The case took an unusual turn after Tesla shareholders approved the package once again at a general meeting in June - this time apparently with more information simply because of the sensational trial. However, the judge stood by her rejection.

Dispute over 300 million Tesla shares
Musk has since moved Tesla's official headquarters from Delaware to Texas - but this has no impact on the 2018 package. The compensation plan at the time granted Musk the right to gradually acquire a good 300 million Tesla shares at the 2018 price if the company met ambitious targets over a period of up to ten years. Tesla cracked the targets much faster.

Originally, the value of the compensation plan was put at 2.6 billion dollars. At the time of the judge's first decision, however, the package was already worth 56 billion.

In recent months, Tesla's share price has risen rapidly once again as investors assume that the car manufacturer will benefit from Musk's closeness to future US President Donald Trump. Thanks to his current shareholding, Musk is now by far the richest person in the world. Bloomberg currently estimates his fortune at 426 billion dollars.