Elon Musk Takes Fight for $56 Billion Pay to Delaware's Supreme Court

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has officially asked Delaware's Supreme Court to review the decision against his $56 billion pay package. This comes after a state judge turned down the deal twice, most recently in September. Shareholders initially approved the package in 2018, allowing Musk to buy up to 304 million shares at a set price if he hit certain goals, which he did. These shares are now worth much more since Tesla's stock price has risen significantly.

The judge, Kathaleen McCormick, ruled that some of Tesla's arguments were unusual and went against established laws. She also decided that the suing shareholder's lawyers should get $345 million in fees, though they had asked for more. Tesla had earlier criticized the ruling, saying it gave too much power to judges and lawyers instead of shareholders. Musk hasn't received any payment for his work as CEO in about six years. He hopes to own a quarter of Tesla's shares before making the company a leader in robotics and artificial intelligence. Currently, he owns about 13% of the company. The first rejection of his pay deal temporarily dropped him from the top spot on Forbes' wealthiest people list, but his net worth later soared above $400 billion.

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