Judge shuts down Tesla’s attempt to reinstate Elon Musk’s giant CEO pay package
The judge ruling over Elon Musk’s ~$55 billion CEO pay package, which some Tesla shareholders claimed was obtained without following proper governance rules, has decided to reject Tesla’s attempt to reinstate it with a shareholder vote.
Delaware Supreme Court could be next.
In 2018, Tesla shareholders voted for Elon Musk to get a historic new CEO compensation package that could be worth $55 billion for the executive if Tesla achieved remarkable growth in valuation and profits, which it did.
However, some shareholders argued that Musk unfairly secured this extremely generous compensation plan by misleading shareholders about the fact that the plan was being put together by an independent board and negotiated in good faith.
They filed a complaint in court in Delaware. The case went to trial in 2022, but it took a long time for the judge to give her decision.
Earlier this year, Delaware Chancery Court Chief Judge Kathleen St. J. McCormick sided with the shareholders after testimonies from everyone involved in the pay package negotiations, or lack of negotiations, and a thorough investigation of how it came about.
She determined that Musk was in control of the board during the time it granted him the pay package while the board members who approved the package were also granted historically large compensations, which they ended up partly reimbursing as part of a settlement from a separate lawsuit for excessive compensation.
McCormick found many governance irregularities, including the fact that the board members who supposedly negotiated the package were not independent of Musk, and even his personal lead on the compensation was his own divorce lawyer, who he had recently hired to be general counsel at Tesla.
The judge rescinded the compensation package, which included over $50 billion worth of Tesla stock options that the CEO had yet to exercise. She asked Tesla to go back to the drawing board, renegotiate the pay package in good faith, and present it properly to shareholders.
Instead, Tesla disagreed with the judge’s findings around governance issues and decided to present the same package while including the judge’s decision in the updated proposal and having Tesla’s shareholders vote on it again.
In June, Tesla shareholders voted to reapprove the package, albeit at a lower percentage than the original vote.
Tesla’s legal team believed the vote would “ratify” the compensation package and force the judge to vacate her decision to void the pay package. However, both Tesla’s lawyers and most corporate law scholars agreed that this would require a completely new way to address ratification.
McCormick listened to both sides this August, and we were awaiting her decision by the end of the year.
Today, the judge released her decision and she sided against Tesla’s argument again:
“The large and talented group of defense firms got creative with the ratification argument, but their unprecedented theories go against multiple strains of settled law.”
Beyond the ratification problem, the judge also said that she believes Tesla again misrepresented the situation to shareholders in the statements made around the new vote:
“Even if a stockholder vote could have a ratifying effect, it could not do so here due to multiple, material misstatements in the proxy statement.”
On top of her ruling on the compensation, she also ruled against the lawyers for the shareholders, who were asking for a ridiculous $5 billion in Tesla stock as their legal fee. Instead, she awarded them $345 million.
Tesla is likely to contest the ruling, which could move the case to the Delaware Supreme Court.
Electrek’s Take
As I wrote last summer, Elon Musk’s compensation package case will haunt Tesla for years. Even if you believe Musk deserves this package, Tesla’s approach to reinstating it was boneheaded and didn’t follow the law as I, and seemingly the judge and most Delaware corporate law experts, understand it.
Tesla, and more specifically Elon Musk, it’s hard to differentiate the two lately, which is part of the problem, are showing no intention to address their governance issues.
Let’s be clear: Elon could get paid somewhat easily here. Even as much or close to this amount. However, it needs to do it through the proper governance and respect the process.
Instead, Elon prefers to lie to shareholders and present the situation as politically motivated lawfare. It’s nonsense.
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The BYD “Shenzhen” set sail on its first voyage overseas this week. With 9,200 parking spots, or about enough to fill 20 football fields, BYD’s new car transport ship is now the world’s largest.
BYD’s largest car carrier sets sail for Brazil
BYD’s Shenzhen is on its maiden voyage to Brazil after setting sail on April 27. The vessel is carrying over 7,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), including electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). It’s the largest single batch of NEVs exported from China so far.
The new vessel is BYD’s fourth car transport ship and the world’s largest, capable of carrying 9,000 vehicles. According to the company, that’s enough to fill about 20 football fields.
BYD launched its first car carrier, the Explorer No 1, in January 2024. It has already completed several trips to Germany, Spain, and Brazil.
Its second, the BYD Changzhou, set sail in December 2024, followed by the Hefei earlier this year. All three vessels can carry up to 7,000 vehicles, making the Shenzhen the largest so far.
The Shenzhen is named after the automaker’s hometown and demonstrates “BYD’s firm determination to promote sustainable development in Brazil.”
BYD is preparing to launch two more vessels, the Changsha and Xi’an. The Changsha is expected to launch soon, while the Xi’an was introduced on April 2.
The new car carriers will help accelerate BYD’s aggressive overseas expansion. In the first three months of 2025, the company sold over 206,000 NEVs overseas, more than double the number it sold last year.
BYD sells a wide range of vehicles in Brazil, including the low-cost Dolphin Mini, starting at around $20,000 (99,800 BRL). In October, it launched its first hybrid pickup truck, the Shark, starting at 379,800 BTL ($66,900).
Brazil is only one overseas market that BYD is targeting. BYD’s sales are expected to double in Europe in 2025, with significant growth in other key regions like Southeast Asia, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea, to name a few.
Source: BYD
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‘Tesla homes’ in a Houston neighborhood where all the homes have Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls went for sale.
7 out of the 11 homes have reportedly already sold.
Tesla neighborhood is a term that is being used for new developments where all the homes integrate all or part of Tesla’s power ecosystem, including the Powerwall home battery pack.
The best example is a giant new development project in Austin, Texas, by Brookfield Asset Management and Dacra in which up to 12,000 new homes are to be built and offering Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls.
However, since the announcement, it looks like only some of the homes in the new neighborhood have Tesla energy systems.
In 2022, Tesla also announced a similar project in Las Vegas.
A year later, the company claimed to have deployed “over 600 solar neighborhoods” worldwide, with a total capacity exceeding 100 MW.
One such ‘Tesla neighborhood’ is a small block of 11 townhouse homes featuring Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls in Houston, Texas.
The homes were recently completed and went on sale, starting at $544,900.
Here are some pictures from the listings:
Utopia Homes, the developer behind the project, described the properties (via Chron):
Step into modern elegance expertly crafted by Utopia Homes. This property showcases groundbreaking Tesla Solar Roof Shingles and Power Wall technology, ensuring 100% energy security and eliminating electric bills for a truly sustainable lifestyle.
The house has proved popular according to the real estate agents, with 7 out of 11 homes already sold.
As we recently reported, Tesla’s solar roofs have proven to be a more expensive and niche product than the company previously presented.
Tesla has largely stopped discussing it, but it is still being deployed through some third-party installers, such as in this case, on new homes.
However, its Powerwall product remains a very popular solution for homeowners seeking greater energy independence and protection against outages, which have been a frequent problem in Texas.
More homeowners are turning to generators, and alternatives like home battery packs are gaining popularity.
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Canadian electric propulsion specialist Vision Marine continues to graduate beyond advanced outboard motors into a provider of all-electric boats. This month, Vision introduced two new electric pontoon boats – the 12-passenger V24 and 15-passenger V30, each capable of a range up to 90 nautical miles.
Vision Marine Technologies ($VMAR) is a Canadian technology company with over 25 years of experience in the marine industry. The company made waves (literally) by introducing its E-Motion turnkey powertrain system, which it has since integrated into a catamaran speedboat, which set a speed record of 109 mph in 2022.
Since then, Vision has introduced six hp two-cruiser vessels – the Fantail 217 and Volt 180, each capable of transporting 10 passengers via its E-Motion technology. Most recently, Vision Marine has integrated the full power of its 180 hp electric powertrain technology into two additional vessels, both electric pontoon boats.
Earlier this month, the company officially began sales of the Vision V24 and V30, which you can view below.
Vision Marine brings power and range to electric pontoons
According to Vision Marine Technologies, orders for its two new electric pontoon boats are now open, and they are touting the same E-Motion technology that put the company on the map a few years ago.
The first model is the V24, a 12-passenger electric pontoon that is 24′ 8″ in length and has 180 hp. The ultra-quiet E-Motion powertrain is powered by a standard 43 kWh marine battery pack, offering 40 nautical miles (46 miles) of all-electric range on a single charge. For added range, Vision sells a version of the electric pontoon with a second battery pack, totaling 86 kWh and delivering up to 90 nautical miles (104 miles) of range.
While the V24 offers more of a classic attempt at the pontoon boat, Vision’s additional new vessel, the all-electric V30, is a tad sportier and provides room for more passengers aboard (15). This 30′ vessel features the same E-Motion powertrain options, complete with the same two battery configurations to offer the same ranges as the V24.
However, the V30 has additional features such as 4 x 6.5″ interior speakers and cool-touch seats. Both models feature an integrated onboard charger that supports both 120- 240V (30 to 50 amps) for seamless charging, no matter the dock plug while moored.
The Vision V24 starts at $99,995 for the standard battery pack version, while the V30 starts at a higher price of $139,995. As previously mentioned, both electric pontoon boats are available to order today.
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