Tesla’s board has approved the award of $30bn (£23bn) worth of shares to its chief executive, Elon Musk, after a US court ruled against a previous pay deal for the world’s richest person. Musk will pay $2bn to buy 96m shares in the electric carmaker at the same price as the 10-year pay package agreed in 2018, which is stuck in legal limbo awaiting a court date for an appeal. The award was based on a recommendation from a “special committee” of the board. Musk is Tesla’s largest shareholder, with a 13% stake.
The announcement in a financial filing was accompanied by a shareholder letter from two members of the committee, Tesla’s chair, Robyn Denholm, and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson. It described the award as a “good faith” payment to Musk after the previous pay deal, worth $56bn, was rescinded in 2024 by a judge in Delaware, where the company was incorporated until June that year.