Elon Musk receives eye-watering bonus from Tesla as a ‘good faith’ payment
Topics: Elon Musk, Tesla, Donald Trump
Joe Yates
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Michael M. Santiago
Topics: Elon Musk, Tesla, Donald Trump
The world's wealthiest man has become even richer after receiving an eye-watering bonus from Tesla as a 'good faith' payment.
As of today, Elon Musk's net worth is valued at $400 billion, according to Forbes, and that could partly be to do with his huge pay packet he received with the electric car firm he runs.
It has been described as a 'good faith' payment to Musk after the previous $56 billion bonus deal struck in 2018 was rescinded in December 2024 under the orders of Delaware Chancery Judge Kathaleen McCormick.
But despite this, Tesla directors felt it was only fair to award Musk an eye-watering amount of cash.
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"To recognise what Elon has accomplished and the extraordinary value he delivered to Tesla and our shareholders, we believe we must take action to honour the bargain that was struck in 2018,” the directors wrote. "After all, ‘a deal is a deal’."
The business has awarded the South African 96 million shares of restricted stock which is valued at roughly $29 billion.
However, he must first pay $2 billion to receive them - which stands at $23.34 per share, equal to the price per share of the 2018 pay package that was awarded to the company’s CEO.
Tesla has said that if Musk's original 2018 pay package is reinstated following his current appeal, he will forfeit the new one.
The rulings came in a lawsuit filed by a Tesla stockholder who challenged Musk’s 2018 compensation package.
That pay package carried a potential maximum value of about $56 billion, but that sum has fluctuated over the years based on Tesla’s stock price.
Judge McCormick found that Musk engineered the landmark pay package in sham negotiations with directors who were not independent.
The CEO appealed against the order in March. A month later Tesla said in a regulatory filing that it was creating a special committee to look at Musk’s compensation as CEO.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives feels Musk’s stock award may alleviate some Tesla shareholder concerns.
“We believe this grant will now keep Musk as CEO of Tesla at least until 2030 and removes an overhang on the stock,” Mr Ives wrote in a client note.
“Musk remains Tesla’s big asset and this comp issue has been a constant concern of shareholders once the Delaware soap opera began.”
Tesla shares have plunged 25 percent this year, mainly due to Musk’s affiliation with President Donald Trump and their subsequent fallout.