Tesla awards boss Elon Musk $29bn in shares [View all]

Source: BBC

Tesla has granted its chief executive Elon Musk $29bn (£21.7bn) worth of its shares, in an attempt to keep the billionaire at the firm. The move comes after a US court struck down his 2018 pay package, worth more than $50bn, ruling that it was "unfair to shareholders". Musk has been appealing against the decision made by the Delaware court in 2024 and on Monday Tesla told shareholders it was "confident" that the $29bn of shares "will incentivize Elon to remain at Tesla" especially as "the war for AI talent is intensifying".

The award should boost Musk's voting power on the electric car company's board. "It is imperative to retain and motivate our extraordinary talent, beginning with Elon", Tesla's board wrote on X, a platform owned by Musk, adding that "no one matches Elon's remarkable combination of leadership experience, technical expertise". The company said the billionaire had a "proven track record" in building "revolutionary and profitable businesses".

Tesla said if the Delware court reinstated Musk's 2018 pay deal, he would forfeit or return the latest share aware to avoid a "double dip". The carmaker's board said it hoped its chief executive could be awarded the deal worth $56bn, which would be the biggest pay deal in corporate American history.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz71vn1v3n4o