Tesla CEO Elon Musk is now as “polarizing as Kanye West,” one shareholder said. Photo: REUTERS/David Swanson
Richard Tornetta is unlikely to join a campaign against one of the richest men in the world.
Until recently, the Pennsylvania resident's biggest claim to fame was playing the drums in Dawn of Correction , a now-defunct thrash metal band who described its sound as «a quick kick to the face with a steel-toed work boot.»
Tornetta owned just nine Tesla shares when he sued the electric car maker six years ago, seeking $56 billion in damages (the £44 billion awarded to CEO Elon Musk was excessive. But when the verdict was finally announced, it dealt a sharp blow to Musk's wealth.
Ruling in January, Delaware Judge Kathleen McCormick called the compensation scheme «incomprehensible» and ruled that it should be overturned, saying Tesla's board acted like «lazy servants of an overconfident master.»
Tornetta remained silent, but his The lawyer called the decision «a good day for the good guys.»
Musk's compensation scheme, announced in 2018, is the largest compensation package in history.
In order to receive the payout, Tesla was required to complete a series of goals that seemed outlandish at the time, including a tenfold increase in its valuation to $650 billion and a jump in sales that was considered laughable during the scheme's 10-year lifespan.
In fact, Musk achieved all his goals in four years, which helped him rise to the highest echelons of the world's richest people.
However, court intervention threatens this status.
Musk and the Tesla board of directors have begun a search to save the most profitable company in history.
Shortly after the ruling, Musk announced he would move Tesla's legal registration from Delaware to Texas, which could revive his $56 billion deal. But to do so, he needs the blessing of investors in the world's most valuable automaker.Tesla shareholders will vote next month on whether to reauthorize Musk's pay package and approve a move to Texas.
The first vote will not immediately restore Musk's salary, but will be used as an argument to overturn the decision of the Delaware court; the second would remove the company from the jurisdiction of the court.
At another time, the vote might have been a foregone conclusion. In 2018, Musk's salary was approved by 73 percent of voting shareholders, although Musk himself did not have the right to vote. But today Tesla has reached a standstill, raising questions about its dynamic leader.
The company's shares have fallen 30% this year and last month the company reported its biggest sales drop in more than a decade.
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