Tesla Drops Musk’s $29b ‘interim’ Award After Delaware Court Restored Larger Pay Package

Tesla has revoked nan “interim” salary package worthy $29 cardinal that it gave its CEO Elon Musk past year, aft nan Delaware Supreme Court precocious restored his larger $56 cardinal compensation grant from 2018.

The institution had given Musk nan interim package successful August 2025 to hedge against nan anticipation of Delaware’s highest tribunal rejecting his appeal. Tesla had explained to investors that nan interim package would beryllium voided should Musk prevail. “[T]here cannot beryllium immoderate ‘double dip’,” nan institution wrote past year.

Sure enough, Tesla confirmed successful its quarterly filing pinch nan Securities and Exchange Commission connected Thursday greeting that it spiked nan interim grant connected April 21. Tesla said that nan committee voted without Musk aliases his relative (and chap director) Kimbal Musk.

“These actions are accordant pinch nan ‘no double dip’ principle, which precludes Mr. Musk from getting a windfall successful nan arena that he whitethorn workout nan 2018 CEO Performance Award,” Tesla wrote successful nan filing.

Tesla granted nan $56 cardinal package to Musk successful 2018, and it was challenged successful tribunal by a shareholder who accused nan CEO of fundamentally negotiating against himself successful designing it, and not decently informing shareholders of this. That lawsuit took years to play retired successful Delaware’s Chancery Court earlier a judge yet decided successful 2024 that nan plaintiff was right, and struck down nan salary package.

Tesla waged a nationalist affairs run while it appealed nan judge’s determination to nan state’s ultimate court. That included “re-voting” connected nan package to ostensibly beryllium that shareholders weren’t duped. Musk, meanwhile, threatened to time off Tesla altogether to create artificial intelligence elsewhere. This spurred Tesla’s committee to tie up nan $29 cardinal grant arsenic a hedge, and besides activity connected a much larger and acold much eager compensation package worthy up to $1 trillion.

The revocation of this interim grant has nary effect connected Musk’s $1 trillion package. To entree that afloat amount, Musk has to lead Tesla done a number of operational milestones (like present 20 cardinal vehicles and a cardinal robots, and put 1 cardinal robotaxis connected nan road), and summation its valuation to much than $8 trillion complete nan people of 10 years.

Interestingly, Tesla explained successful nan quarterly filing that it is starting to make its ain estimates astir what milestones Musk mightiness and mightiness not achieve. The institution doesn’t specify which 1 it thinks Musk will accomplish, but wrote that it has “unrecognized stock-based compensation disbursal of $9.97 cardinal for nan operational milestone that was considered probable of accomplishment complete nan word of nan award.”

The institution went connected to opportunity that it has unrecognized stock-based compensation disbursal of betwixt $105.82 cardinal to $120.37 cardinal for nan “operational milestones that were considered not probable of achievement,” though it did not specify which milestones it meant.

While Musk has 10 years to execute each of nan goals tied to nan trillion-dollar package, galore of these operational milestones are watered down versions of promises he’s antecedently made. Yet, it seems Tesla itself isn’t judge he’ll beryllium capable to execute astatine slightest a few.

Tesla besides explained successful nan filing that its committee of board has decided to put up immoderate barriers connected really and erstwhile Musk tin waste shares from nan now-restored 2018 package “to mitigate immoderate antagonistic effect of important stock income connected nan Company.”

Those restrictions look to way immoderate of nan much wide ones laid retired successful nan $1 trillion salary package. They dictate Musk has to stay CEO aliases a merchandise improvement executive astatine nan institution done astatine slightest 2028 for nan shares to vest, and require him to clasp nan shares for 5 years.