特斯拉律师向特拉华州衡平法院保证，法院保留对马斯克薪酬的管辖权，并将此事提交股东投票决定。经过投票，超过四分之三的特斯拉投票股东(不包括马斯克及其兄弟金巴尔·马斯克持有的股份)批准了薪酬方案。然而，McCormick法官在周一的意见中维持了她之前的决定，认为即使股东投票产生了批准效果，但在这里却不行。Tesla's stock price is still under pressure because the ruling made by Judge Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Chancery Court remains a thorny issue for Musk and shareholders.
Finance and Economics APP learned that Tesla (TSLA.US) stock price is still under pressure because the ruling made by Judge Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Chancery Court remains a thorny issue for Musk and shareholders. This ruling upheld the previous decision to revoke Musk's compensation plan and awarded the plaintiff $0.345 billion in legal fees. Dan Ives of Wedbush stated that Musk is closely tied to Tesla, and the board of directors will ultimately allow Musk to receive his compensation plan and future long-term plans, even if this case needs to be appealed to the United States Supreme Court. Despite the prolonged battle between Tesla and the court, Ives believes that given shareholders have twice approved the compensation plan by an overwhelming majority, Tesla will ultimately win this battle at the Supreme Court level.
The compensation case began in 2018 when Tesla's board of directors granted Musk 0.304 billion stock options, with the condition that the company must achieve specific operational and financial goals. However, as the goals were met, Musk's compensation seemed to be set and continued to grow, causing dissatisfaction among a shareholder who sued the company in the Delaware court. The plaintiff accused the compensation of being the result of "collusive negotiations" between a malevolent board and an intimidating CEO. Judge McCormick ruled in favor of the shareholders, revoking Musk's compensation plan, also prompting Tesla to relocate its headquarters from Delaware to Texas.
Tesla's lawyers assured the Delaware Chancery Court that the court retains jurisdiction over Musk's compensation and would submit the matter to a shareholder vote. After the vote, over three-quarters of Tesla's voting shareholders (excluding shares held by Musk and his brother Kimbal Musk) approved the compensation plan. However, Judge McCormick maintained her previous decision in Monday's opinion, believing that even though the shareholder vote had approval effects elsewhere, it did not apply here.
This ruling is a blow to both Tesla and Musk because the compensation plan is one of the key motivations for Musk to stay at Tesla and continue leading the company. An appeal will still be a pending issue for Tesla, especially if a new appeal plan must be issued. However, Dan Ives of Barclays stated that despite this pending issue, Musk is willing to patiently wait for this process and remains committed to Tesla.
