According to the Zhitong Finance APP, key members of Tesla's (TSLA.US) board, including Chairperson Robyn Denholm and James Murdoch, received a legal ruling on Wednesday, officially reaching a settlement agreement totaling up to $0.919 billion.

The agreement aims to resolve a lawsuit filed in 2020 by the Detroit Police and Fire Retirement System, which accused Tesla's board of excessive compensation between 2017 and 2020. According to the terms of the agreement, the directors must return approximately $0.277 billion in Cash, $0.459 billion in Options, and forgo $0.184 billion in Options over the next three years.

This settlement not only marks an important step for Tesla in resolving compensation disputes but also demonstrates the Delaware court's determination to protect shareholder rights.

The judge overseeing the case, Kathaleen McCormick, formally approved the settlement plan during a telephone hearing on Wednesday. The sum involved ranks second in the history of Delaware Chancery Court, second only to another significant shareholder lawsuit settlement amount.

It is noteworthy that although the directors did not admit to any wrongdoing, the settlement agreement still requires them to return part of their compensation and introduces a series of governance reform measures, including new rules that require shareholder approval for director compensation. This reform aims to enhance the transparency and fairness of corporate governance, thereby protecting shareholder interests.

Additionally, the court also ruled to pay $0.176 billion in fees and costs to the three law firms that initiated the case, ranking fourth in the history of Delaware shareholder litigation. Tesla had attempted to limit this fee to $64 million, but the court ultimately made a higher ruling. Tesla and its lawyers have not yet commented on this.

The settlement agreement does not specify the exact amounts to be returned by each Director, but the list of Directors involved is quite noteworthy.

In addition to Danhomm and Murdoch, it also includes Elon Musk's brother Kimbal Musk, Brad Buss, Ira Ehrenpreis, Antonio Gracias, Stephen Jurvetson, Linda Johnson Rice, Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, Hiromichi Mizuno, and co-founder of Oracle Corporation Lawrence Ellison. Forbes lists Ellison as one of the richest people in the world, with an estimated wealth of 206 billion dollars.

Meanwhile, Tesla founder Musk did not receive compensation for serving as a Director. However, he faced scrutiny from another Shareholder over his compensation package during his tenure as Tesla's CEO.

Last year, the same Judge ordered the cancellation of Musk's compensation plan, citing his excessive control over the pay negotiations. This ruling also further highlights the importance of corporate governance structure and the necessity of Shareholder oversight.

Overall, the resolution of the Tesla Directors' compensation settlement agreement not only addresses the long-standing compensation dispute but also provides an important opportunity for reform in the corporate governance structure. In the future, Tesla will continue to focus on improving its corporate governance level, safeguarding Shareholder interests, and promoting the sustainable and healthy development of the company.