A Delaware appeals court cleared the way Friday for Elon Musk to receive a long-contested $56 billion Tesla pay package, reversing an earlier judgment in the protracted case.
The decision by the Delaware Supreme Court rejects a pair of judgments by Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the state’s Court of Chancery and sets the stage for the world’s richest person to get another windfall.
In a pair of 2024 rulings, McCormick invalidated the 2018 package, which once loomed as historically large but have since been eclipsed by the tech tycoon’s most recent Tesla package.
The five-judge appeals panel determined that McCormick ruled improperly in ordering a rescission, the tossing out of Musk’s package in its entirety.
“It is undisputed that Musk fully performed under the 2018 grant, and Tesla and its stockholders were rewarded for his work,” the ruling said as it reversed the rescission.
Though approved by a majority of Tesla shareholders, the 2018 package ended up in court when Tesla shareholder Richard Tornetta challenged the award as excessive.
