Elon Musk’s $56B Tesla pay package restored by Delaware Supreme Court
Elon Musk’s $56B Tesla pay package restored by Delaware Supreme Court
The Delaware Supreme Court has reinstated Elon Musk’s $56 billion Tesla pay package from 2018, overturning last year’s ruling by the state’s Chancery Court, according to an opinion published Friday.
The state supreme court’s decision draws to a close a years-long battle that left such a bad taste in Musk’s mouth that he moved its incorporation out of Delaware to Texas, which prompted other companies to follow suit.
Tesla will now likely revoke a $29 billion pay package it offered Musk earlier this year, which was meant as a hedge against the possibility that they would lose the Delaware Supreme Court appeal. The $1 trillion compensation package awarded to Musk in November is separate from that, and will continue to exist going forward, giving Musk a series of lofty goals to hit in order to unlock the full value.
The 2018 award also set out a number of milestones that Musk had to hit in order to unlock the full value. Musk and Tesla hit all of those goals, but not before a shareholder filed suit over the award in 2018, arguing that it had been improperly negotiated and that shareholders weren’t properly informed of the conflicts of interest at play.
After years of back-and-forth, including a trial where Musk testified, the Chancery Court judge overseeing the case agreed with the plaintiff and initially struck down the pay package in January 2024. Tesla held a vote at its annual meeting in 2024 where shareholders “re-approved” the package, but the judge confirmed her decision in December 2024. Tesla appealed soon after.
This story is developing…
Techcrunch event
San Francisco | October 13-15, 2026
Sean O’Kane is a reporter who has spent a decade covering the rapidly-evolving business and technology of the transportation industry, including Tesla and the many startups chasing Elon Musk. Most recently, he was a reporter at Bloomberg News where he helped break stories about some of the most notorious EV SPAC flops. He previously worked at The Verge, where he also covered consumer technology, hosted many short- and long-form videos, performed product and editorial photography, and once nearly passed out in a Red Bull Air Race plane.
You can contact or verify outreach from Sean by emailing sean.okane@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at okane.01 on Signal.
Most Popular
Sponsored
Sponsored
Sponsored
Sponsored
Ads
Categories
Read More
How the Trump administration's threats to Iran are stoking tensions in the region How the Trump administration's threats to Iran are stoking tensions in the region Audio will be available later today. NPR's Michel Martin talks to Vali Nasr, a professor of Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University, about how President Trump's...
Samsung Display, China’s BOE settle OLED patent and trade secret lawsuits Samsung Display and China’s BOE Technology, a supplier of OLED displays used in Apple devices, have agreed to settle a patent lawsuit concerning OLED technology. “The two companies have agreed that fair technological competition is essential for the advancement of the display industry,” and have therefore decided to...
Spotify’s latest feature lets you transfer playlists from other services Spotify is making it easier for users to make the switch from other streaming services. On Thursday, the company announced an integration with TuneMyMusic, a tool that can transfer playlists from other streaming services into users’ Spotify libraries. The new feature, which is rolling out now to all Spotify users, will be...
Four killed in mass shooting after Mississippi football gameAFP via Getty ImagesFour people have been killed and 12 others injured, four critically, after a mass shooting in the US state of Mississippi.The shooting happened at around midnight on the main street in Leland, 120 miles (190km) north-east of the state capital Jackson, the city's mayor John Lee told the BBC's US partner CBS.Four of...
Immersive LA Lakers Games Are Coming to the Apple Vision Pro The games will stream at up to 150 Mbps, with video captured by 3D rigs. Connor is a technology writer and editor, with a byline on multiple platforms. He has been writing for around nine years now across the web and in print too. Connor has attended the biggest tech expos, including CES, MWC, and IFA -- with contributions...
