Tesla renews legal fight to reinstate Elon Musk’s $56B pay package after shareholders back deal
NY Post
Tesla launched a fresh bid to secure legal reinstatement of Elon Musk’s controversial $56 billion pay package on Monday – days after the company’s shareholders voted to ratify the record-setting agreement.
In January, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen McCormick voided Musk’s stock-based compensation plan, which she referred to as an “unfathomable sum.” The package was challenged in a lawsuit filed by Tesla shareholder Richard Tornetta.
Tesla’s lawyers argued that the two sides should make their legal argument regarding the potential implications of last Thursday’s vote at the company’s annual meeting, where shareholders backed the deal.
“The approval of ratification by Tesla’s stockholders significantly impacts the claims and issues in this action, including the court’s final judgment,” Tesla attorneys said in a letter to McCormick last Friday.
An attorney for the plaintiff shareholder fired back, arguing that the vote had “no legal effect” on the judge’s earlier decision to void the $56 billion package. The attorney is set to file a legal brief explaining his reasoning by Friday.
Tesla has acknowledged that shareholders’ ratification of the voided deal had created a “novel” outcome – and that it was unclear if the vote would prompt McCormick to reverse course.
