Elon Musk, the world's richest man, is on his way to get even richer as a Delaware Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for the tech tycoon to receive his 2018 CEO pay package from Tesla after a seven-year-long fight.
Musk's 2018 Tesla pay package is set to be reinstated as the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the ruling of a judge who previously found that the CEO had influenced board members, who came up with the compensation plan, improperly.
“We reverse the Court of Chancery’s rescission remedy and award $1 in nominal damages,” the Delaware judges wrote in their opinion.
The long-contested $56 billion Tesla pay package in 2018 was doled out as part of an incentive for Elon Musk to take the EV maker to new heights.
Elon Musk's pay package: What did Delaware Supreme Court say?
Reversing a pair of judgments by Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware's Court of Chancery, the Supreme Court said that Elon Musk was rewarded for the work he did at Tesla.
“It is undisputed that Musk fully performed under the 2018 grant, and Tesla and its stockholders were rewarded for his work,” the Friday ruling said.
The appeals panel comprising five judges held unanimously that McCormick had ruled improperly in ordering a recission of Elon Musk's 2018 Tesla pay package, saying that the tossing out of the same in entirety was not correct.
Delaware’s highest court in its unanimous ruling on Friday said that cancelling the CEO’s entire 2018 Tesla payout “leaves Musk uncompensated for his time and efforts over a period of six years.”
Musk’s 2018 compensation plan has been on hold after an investor successfully sued to block it in Delaware, where the electric carmaker was incorporated at the time. The investor himself held nine shares of Tesla, court filings cited by Bloomberg showed.
How much money will Elon Musk receive?
When the pay was approved by Tesla board members, Elon Musk was entitled to receive around $56 billion.
The Delaware supreme court on Friday concluded that at present, the world's richest person is entitled to a stock-based compensation plan, which is now valued at $140 billion.
Is Elon Musk's net worth going to increase?
Elon Musk net worth has recently soared to record levels, breaching the $500 billion mark — a first of its kind in history.
According to Forbes Real Time Billionaires, his wealth now stands at $679.4, making Musk the richest person in the world.
The $140 billion payout, which is the amount of money Elon Musk will receive, is expected to further his fortune again, widening the gap between him and other billionaires.
