Tesla boss Elon Musk has prevailed in the years-long legal dispute over a huge block of shares from 2018.
The approximately 304 million shares are worth just over 146 billion dollars (around 124.6 billion euros) at the current price. The Supreme Court in the US state of Delaware overturned a judge’s decision to overturn the compensation package following a shareholder lawsuit. The judges ruled that repealing the entire package was too harsh a measure.
In 2018, Musk was given the right to acquire the shares in twelve steps if the company met ambitious goals over a period of up to ten years. Tesla hit the targets much faster. The package was worth more than $50 billion at the time.
Doubts about transparency
However, a shareholder filed a lawsuit against Musk’s remuneration at Tesla’s then headquarters in the state of Delaware. And a judge ruled at the beginning of 2024 that the allocation of the package was not legal. Musk was in negotiations with the board of directors of the Electric carmanufacturer had too much influence in the background – and this was kept secret from the shareholders, she argued. One reaction from Musk was to move Tesla’s official headquarters from Delaware to Texas.
The case took an unusual turn after Tesla shareholders approved the 2018 package again at a general meeting in June 2024 – this time with more information simply through the sensational process. However, the judge stood by her rejection. Tesla appealed in Delaware and has since set a higher hurdle for such shareholder lawsuits.
Replacement shares are no longer necessary
In view of the legal dispute, Tesla gave Musk the prospect of a replacement package of 96 million shares last August, which he was supposed to receive after two years. He could have purchased the shares for $23.34 per share – just like the papers promised in 2018. However, Tesla restricted that this new allocation would become invalid if the old package was restored by the court.
New package worth trillions
In November, Musk also had the prospect of a new giant share package worth a trillion dollars. In total, he could get up to 423.74 million Tesla shares – in twelve stages, which are usually linked to steps of an additional $500 billion in market value. One of the goals is for Tesla to raise at least $8.5 trillion on the stock market in ten years. Other requirements include that Musk stays in the executive suite for the decade – and Tesla has a million robotaxis in use and delivers a million AI robots.
According to estimates by the financial service Bloomberg, Musk already has a fortune of more than 640 billion dollars, which mainly consists of shares in Tesla and the space company SpaceX, which he leads.
US verdict raises Elon Musk’s fortune to record level
Tesla boss Elon Musk According to calculations by Forbes magazine, according to a court decision in the USA, he has a net worth of around $749 billion. This emerges from the magazine’s list of billionaires published online, which Musk currently leads.
Musk recently prevailed in a years-long legal dispute over a huge block of shares from 2018. The approximately 304 million shares are worth just over 146 billion dollars (around 124.6 billion euros) at the current price. The Supreme Court in the US state of Delaware overturned a judge’s decision to overturn the compensation package following a shareholder lawsuit. The judges ruled that repealing the entire package was too harsh a measure.
In 2018, Musk was given the right to acquire the shares in twelve steps if the company met ambitious goals over a period of up to ten years. Tesla hit the targets much faster. The package was worth more than $50 billion at the time.
Just cracked the 600 billion mark
Just at the beginning of the week, Musk’s fortune reached an estimated net worth of more than $600 billion, according to Forbes. From the magazine’s point of view, the decisive factor was the sale of shares in the space company SpaceX, run by Musk, by some employees and investors. Musk’s assets mainly consist of shares in the electric car manufacturer Tesla and SpaceX. Google co-founder Larry Page is currently in second place on the billionaire list with a fortune of around $253 billion.
Tesla shows Optimus robot in Berlin
Tesla demonstrated his humanoid robot named Optimus to the audience in Berlin. The machine dispensed popcorn at the Christmas market in the LP12 shopping center. The robot grabbed small popcorn boxes, filled them up and handed them to visitors. A long queue formed at the stand. As with other similar demonstrations by Tesla, it remained unclear to what extent Optimus acted autonomously or was at least partially controlled remotely.
Future in robots
While sales of Tesla’s electric cars are expected to fall again this year, CEO Elon Musk has announced that the company’s future will lie in self-driving robotaxis and human-like robots.
Musk insists that the company’s Optimus robots have the potential to become the “greatest product of all time.” Version 3, planned for next year, will move so smoothly that it will appear “like a human in a robot costume,” he said in October.
Optimus as a surgeon?
Musk also predicts that there will be more robots than people in the world. Self-driving cars and robots would bring about a “world without poverty” in which everyone has access to the best medical care. Because: “Optimus will be an incredible surgeon,” Musk announced. He hopes to start production of the robots by the end of next year.
According to reports, the robots in such demonstrations are sometimes controlled remotely. A video recently caused a stir online, showing an Optimus robot tipping over backwards like a board at an event in Miami. Before falling, however, he raises both arms to his head and his movement suggests that a person who was controlling him from a distance took off 3D glasses. Tesla did not comment on this.
Contested future markets
Tesla faces a lot of competition in both self-driving taxis and robots. Many Chinese companies are researching robots and US companies such as Agility Robotics and Figure AI are working on using the machines in industry. Robots from Figure AI completed tasks at the BMW US plant in Spartanburg for six months as a test.
Meanwhile, Google sister company Waymo is the leader in autonomous driving. It has more than 2,500 driverless vehicles in use in various US cities, while Tesla has so far had a few dozen cars in the Texas city of Austin with an attendant in the passenger seat.
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