Elon Musk’s $55bn pay package from Tesla has been voided by a Delaware judge, who ruled that the unprecedented remuneration was improperly approved by the electric-car maker’s board of directors and had short-changed the company’s shareholders.
The court order on Tuesday sent Tesla shares down more than 4 per cent in after-market trading, dealing a blow to Musk as he seeks billions of dollars of investment for a new artificial intelligence company.
The Delaware judge overseeing the case, Kathaleen McCormick, said that Musk still controlled the board through his personality and influence, even with just a 22 per cent stake in Tesla, and that the board could not demonstrate the share grant had been done at a fair price and through a fair process.