Elon Musk’s attempts to reinstate his massive $56 billion Tesla pay package for 2018 were rejected by a Delaware judge on Monday.
The decision, issued by Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick, comes after a majority of Tesla shareholders voted in August reauthorized the compensation package at the annual meeting of the electric vehicle manufacturer.
After initially being approved in 2018, the pay package sparked a lawsuit from some Tesla shareholders who accused Musk and Tesla’s board of directors of breaching their duties and unjustly enriching the billionaire. A Delaware judge ruled that Musk and his company failed to prove that the huge payout was legally justified, prompting Musk to take the issue back to his shareholders in August.
In her Dec. 2 decision, McCormick said Musk asked the court to “reverse its decision and enter judgment in their favor.”
She added: “The motion for reconsideration is denied.”
The stock options Tesla granted to Musk were initially worth $2.6 billion, but rose to $56 billion when McCormick blocked the package in January, according to Bloomberg News.
—This is a breaking story and will be updated.
