Who Controls Tesla? Musk Trial Asks The $2 Billion Question

Shareholders allege Elon Musk used his control of Tesla to force the company in 2016 to rescue SolarCity, saving the solar panel maker - and Musk's investment in the company - from bankruptcy.

Does Elon Musk control Tesla Inc or does Tesla control Elon Musk? More than $2 billion hinges on that question as a trial kicks off on Monday. Shareholders allege that Musk used his control of Tesla to force the company in 2016 to rescue SolarCity, saving the solar panel maker - and Musk's investment in the company - from bankruptcy. The union pension funds and asset managers leading the case want Musk to repay to Tesla the cost of the $2.6 billion deal and to disgorge the profits on his SolarCity stock. If they win, it would be one of the largest judgments against an individual. The two-week trial in the Court of Chancery in Wilmington, Delaware, will boil down to whether Musk, who owned about 22% of Tesla at the time of the deal, is that rare controlling stockholder who does not hold a majority stake.