Tesla shareholders have voted to reinstate CEO Elon Musk’s record-breaking pay package, which was previously voided by a Delaware judge. The package, once worth nearly $56 billion, was approved by 72% of votes cast by shareholders, excluding Musk and his brother Kimbal. The decision was announced at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas.
The approval does not mean that Musk will receive the compensation immediately. The package is likely to remain tied up in the Delaware Chancery Court and Supreme Court for months as Tesla tries to overturn the Delaware judge’s rejection. The judge had ruled that the record-breaking compensation was excessive.
Despite the legal battles, Musk remains a polarizing figure in the tech industry. He has embraced extreme views on immigration and transgender rights and has grown closer to former President Donald Trump. However, the shareholder vote solidifies his position atop Tesla.
Musk has threatened to leave Tesla if shareholders didn’t grant him more shares. He walked onstage to cheers a few minutes after the announcement and addressed the gathered shareholders who had just endorsed his pay package. “Hot damn, I love you guys,” he said.
The compensation plan, which consists of stock options tied to Tesla’s hitting various performance benchmarks, would be the largest in corporate history if Musk is able to collect it all. Musk has argued that he has worked without pay for years because he had yet to exercise any of the stock options and that he would have to hold the shares for five years before he could sell them.
Read more: www.wired.com