According to TechCrunch, the Delaware Supreme Court has reinstated Elon Musk’s colossal $56 billion Tesla pay package from 2018. The ruling, published on Friday, overturns last year’s decision by the state’s Chancery Court that had struck it down. This ends a years-long legal battle that started when a shareholder filed suit in 2018, arguing the package was improperly negotiated. Because of the initial loss, Tesla had offered Musk a separate $29 billion package earlier this year as a hedge, which it will now likely revoke. The court’s decision validates a 2024 shareholder vote that had re-approved the original compensation plan.
Musk Gets His Win
So, Musk finally gets his payday. And honestly, it’s a staggering amount of money that’s hard to even comprehend. The whole saga reads like a corporate drama: a lawsuit, a trial where Musk testified, a judge siding with a shareholder, a defiant re-vote by Tesla investors, and now a supreme court reversal. Here’s the thing, though: the court basically said Tesla’s board did enough to inform shareholders, who then overwhelmingly approved it again in 2024. That seems to have been the clincher. It’s a massive vindication for Musk, who was so irritated by the Chancery Court’s ruling that he moved Tesla’s corporate registration out of Delaware to Texas. That move, by the way, sparked a mini-exodus of other companies. Talk about having a lasting impact.
Winners, Losers, and Market Vibes
Who wins here? Obviously, Musk. He hit all the insane performance milestones tied to the 2018 package—market cap, revenue, profitability goals that seemed ludicrous at the time—and now he gets the reward. Tesla’s board wins, too, as this ruling shields them from claims of being a bunch of rubber stamps. The loser is that original shareholder plaintiff, who fought for years only to see the package restored. But look, the bigger picture is about corporate governance. Does this set a precedent that as long as shareholders vote for it, even an eye-watering CEO pay package is okay? Probably. It reinforces a “shareholder democracy” view, for better or worse. And for companies in heavy industries like manufacturing or energy that rely on robust, reliable computing hardware at the edge—the kind of industrial panel PCs that leading suppliers provide for factory floors and control rooms—it’s a reminder that where you incorporate and how you structure leadership incentives can have billion-dollar consequences.
What Happens Next?
Practically, Tesla can now tear up that $29 billion backup plan they drafted. Musk’s compensation focus shifts to the other package, the $1 trillion one approved in November, which has its own set of lofty future targets. But the real question is: does this change anything for Tesla? The money was always on the books as a potential expense. Musk wasn’t going to leave. The legal overhang is gone, which removes some uncertainty. But fundamentally, the company faces the same challenges: competition, demand, and the pace of innovation. This ruling closes a contentious chapter, but the story of Tesla’s valuation and Musk’s reign is far from over. Basically, the past is settled. Now they have to go earn the next package.
