On December 3, Tsingtao News Agency (Editor Malan) - Elon Musk, the "hot potato" in American politics, received a blow. On Monday, a judge in the state of Delaware, USA, announced the decision to uphold the previous ruling that Tesla's $56 billion compensation package promised to Musk in 2018 was invalid.

This ruling was made by Chief Justice Kathaleen McCormick. She ruled in January this year that Tesla's CEO compensation scheme was overvalued and subsequently revoked it. This decision surprised investors and brought uncertainty to Musk's future at Tesla.

Later, in June of this year, Tesla shareholders voted at the annual meeting to approve this compensation agreement and provide Musk with the high rewards he had promised. However, McCormick stated that the Tesla Board of Directors did not have the authority to reinstate Musk's compensation through a re-vote.

She also emphasized that if the court allowed the losing party to fabricate new facts in order to modify the judgment, the litigation would become endless. Tesla should not see shareholder votes as a panacea, providing an excuse to restore Musk's compensation.

Angry Musk

Musk's compensation plan is the most generous in the history of public companies in the United States. As Musk manages more and more companies, this multitasking attitude has sparked dissatisfaction among some Tesla shareholders, who believe he does not deserve such high rewards.

Additionally, McCormick pointed out in the initial ruling that Musk personally had suspicions of controlling the Tesla board of directors and did not negotiate fairly to determine his compensation terms, which was an important factor in revoking the compensation package.

Musk vehemently criticized the ruling at the time and subsequently relocated SpaceX's place of registration from Delaware to Texas. After the ruling was announced on Monday, Musk also expressed his opinion on X, believing it to be corrupt of the local court. Tesla, on the other hand, stated that they will continue to appeal the ruling.

In addition to revoking Musk's high compensation plan, McCormick also replied in the opinion on Monday, approving Tesla to pay 0.345 billion dollars in legal fees to the lawyers who successfully sued on behalf of Tesla shareholders to cancel Musk's compensation package.

This legal fee is also considered one of the highest records in the history of commercial litigation in the United States. Musk and Tesla have always held a hostile attitude towards this legal fee and refused to pay it.

In conclusion, this ruling in Delaware has added some uncertainty to Tesla's future, causing investors to worry that Musk might step away from the company to "take a breather".

Nevertheless, despite this, since Trump won the U.S. presidential election, Tesla remains one of the companies that has gained the most momentum, with its stock price surging 42% in the past four weeks. Based on Monday's closing price, Musk's holdings in Tesla are worth close to 150 billion dollars.