Judge voids Elon Musk's Tesla pay package

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - A Delaware judge on Tuesday voided US tech billionaire Elon Musk's 2018 pay package of $56 billion at Tesla Inc., siding with a shareholder, who called it "unfair."

"The concept of fairness calls for a holistic analysis that takes into consideration two basic issues: process and price. The process leading to the approval of Musk’s compensation plan was deeply flawed," Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Chancery Court said in the decision.

The judge noted that the pay package that Tesla granted Musk was "the largest compensation plan in the history of public markets."

In her 200-page ruling, she asked: "Was the richest person in the world overpaid?", adding: "The stockholder plaintiff in this derivative lawsuit says so. He claims that Tesla, Inc.’s directors breached their fiduciary duties by awarding Elon Musk a performance-based equity-compensation plan."

The plan offered Musk the opportunity to secure 12 tranches of Tesla stock options, each representing 1% of Tesla’s total outstanding shares as of Jan. 21, 2018.

Later Tuesday, Musk said on X: "Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware."