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A judge has officially approved a settlement in a case brought by Tesla shareholders against board members who will now have to return stock, cash, and give up on stock options worth a total of nearly $1 billion.

Let me start this article with a quote from Tesla CEO Elon Musk:

Tesla will never settle a case where we’re in the right, and never contest a case where we’re in the wrong.

Today, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick approved a settlement agreement between Tesla and all its board members from 2017 to 2020 and the Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit on behalf of Tesla shareholders over what the shareholders believed to be excessive compensation.

The agreement was first reported in July 2023, but it is only now being officially approved and we learn a few more details.

Shareholders believed that members of Tesla’s board were compensating themselves excessively with hundreds of millions of dollars between 2017 and 2020 when the average compensation of a board member of a S&P500 company is just north of $300,000.

Under the settlement, the board members agree to return to Tesla $277 million in cash, $459 million in stock options and to forgo $184 million worth of stock options awarded for 2021-2023.

That adds up to nearly $1 billion.

The board members include Kimbal Musk, Elon’s brother, Brad Buss, Ira Ehrenpreis, Antonio Gracias, Stephen Jurvetson, all close friends of Elon Musk and people who have financial dealings with Musk outside of Tesla, Linda Johnson Rice, Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, Hiromichi Mizuno and Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle Corp and also a close friend of Musk.

As part of the settlement, Tesla or the board does not admit to any wrongdoing.

Musk didn’t take compensation as part of the board, but he is embroiled in a similar case over his own $55 billion CEO compensation package, which was rescinded by the same judge after she found that it wasn’t negotiated or presented to shareholders in good faith.

The board members who received this “excessive compensation” also happened to be the one who “negotiated” Musk’s CEO compensation package.

The case is heading to the Delaware Supreme Court, as reported earlier today.

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California set to BAN Tesla sales, Vietnam leads the way, and VW value tanks

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California set to BAN Tesla sales, Vietnam leads the way, and VW value tanks

The State of California is moving to ban the sale of Tesla cars amid claims that the company and its CEO, Elon Musk, have misled buyers about the self-driving capabilities of their cars. We’ve also got market-leading news out of Vietnam and a pricey, pricey lesson for one VW ID.Buzz buyer on today’s lesson-learning episode of Quick Charge!

We also ask what this might mean for the recent Uber/Lucid autonomous taxi tie-up and go through a full rundown of the fastest depreciating EVs on the market (and yes, there are four Tesla models in the top 10 … because the Cybertruck was too new to qualify).

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (most weeks, anyway). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

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Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.


If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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Sunrun’s 37,000 home batteries are bailing out Puerto Rico’s grid

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Sunrun’s 37,000 home batteries are bailing out Puerto Rico’s grid

Sunrun is putting tens of thousands of home batteries to work in Puerto Rico as the island’s electric grid faces a summer of high temperatures and energy shortfalls.

The company says it’s now dispatching energy from over 37,000 residential batteries to help grid operator LUMA keep the lights on. That stored power is being used to prevent rolling blackouts when demand spikes and centralized power plants can’t keep up.

Sunrun’s emergency power contribution has grown more than tenfold since last summer. LUMA expects more than 75 energy shortfall events between now and October, with each dispatch sending electricity to the grid for four consecutive hours. During several recent evenings, Sunrun and other virtual power plant (VPP) operators provided enough energy to offset a 50-megawatt generation gap, LUMA said.

Sunrun CEO Mary Powell said Puerto Rico’s aging infrastructure and intense weather patterns make home battery support increasingly critical:

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It’s going to be a very difficult summer, which is why Sunrun has ramped up our dispatch capabilities, using tens of thousands of home batteries to support the grid and people of Puerto Rico.

She added that distributed power plants like Sunrun’s serve the same role as natural gas peaker plants – offering fast, reliable power during high-demand moments – but with clean energy.

Sunrun customers enrolled in the VPP will get paid too. Each participating battery earns about $200 minimum for the season, and customers who allow more of their stored energy to go to the grid earn even more. Sunrun also earns revenue for operating the VPP.

Read more: The US’s largest virtual power plant now runs on 75,000 home batteries


The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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Volkswagen is practically giving away the ID.4 with leases as low as $99 a month

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Volkswagen is practically giving away the ID.4 with leases as low as  a month

Volkswagen is advertising ID.4 leases starting at just $99 a month. It’s hard to find any car lease these days for under $100 a month, but for $45,000 electric SUV, it’s almost unheard of.

Volkswagen offers ID.4 leases as low as $99 a month

The Volkswagen ID.4 was the third top-selling EV in the US in January after the 2025 model year went back on sale.

Volkswagen’s electric SUV starts at $45,095 with an EPA-estimated driving range of 291 miles. It’s available in five different trims: Pro, AWD Pro, Pro S, AWD Pro S, and AWD Pro S Plus.

The base 2025 VW ID.4 Pro RWD is equipped with 282 hp from a single rear electric motor. Inside, it features a 12.9″ infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, and Volkswagen’s new ID.Cockpit digital instrument display.

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Upgrading to the AWD version will gain a tow hitch and an additional 53 hp, for a combined maximum of 335 hp. The added power comes at the cost of some range, with an EPA-estimated range of 263 miles.

Volkswagen-ID.4-lease-$99
Volkswagen ID.4 (Source: Volkswagen)

Volkswagen was already offering 2025 ID.4 leases as low as $129 a month, but some dealers are listing it for even less this month.

Volkswagen-ID.4-lease-$99
(Source: VW of Garden Grove)

A California dealership, Volkswagen of Garden Grove, has the 2025 ID.4 Pro RWD listed for lease at just $99 per month. The offer is for 24 months with $2,995 down. According to the dealer, the offer includes a $5,000 cash back bonus, good on a new ID.4 purchase or lease.

We thought the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 was a good deal with leases starting at just $179 per month, but for $99, now that’s a steal.

Looking for deals on the Volkswagen ID.4 near you? You can use our link to find and view offers on the 2025 Volkswagen ID.4 in your area (via a trusted affiliate link)

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