市場分析

Tesla Faces Setback After Court Blocks Musk's $56 Billion Pay Deal

Amos Simanungkalit · 04 Dec 202414.3K 閱讀

Tesla's stock dropped 1.6% on Tuesday after a Delaware judge rejected CEO Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package for the second time.

This decision follows a similar ruling in January, when the Delaware Court of Chancery struck down the performance-based pay package, which included stock options, after a lawsuit claimed the deal was excessive and misleading to shareholders. Musk’s motion to revise the ruling was denied on Monday.

Musk has previously threatened to leave Tesla if he doesn’t gain 25% voting control in the company. His stake, which was once 22%, has since decreased to 13% following his sale of shares to fund his purchase of Twitter (now X) in 2022.

The controversial 2018 pay package was designed to retain Musk’s leadership at Tesla. It would have granted him around 304 million stock options if Tesla’s market cap reached between $50 billion and $650 billion by 2028. Musk’s voting control was expected to rise closer to 30% as part of the deal. Despite the package’s approval by Tesla shareholders in 2024, Tesla chair Robyn Denholm argued it was necessary to keep Musk focused on the company’s future.

Following the court’s ruling, Musk expressed his dissatisfaction on X, stating that shareholders, not judges, should control company votes. Tesla also announced plans to appeal the decision. Despite the ruling, the value of Musk’s pay package has soared, with Tesla’s market cap now over $1 trillion, compared to about $60 billion in 2018.

While the pay deal raised concerns in 2018, especially from institutional investors, Tesla has exceeded all the targets set for Musk. However, analysts have recently raised concerns about Tesla’s valuation, noting a potential disconnect between its fundamentals and stock price. Tesla’s performance in China has also faced challenges, with EV sales there dropping by 4% in November.

Despite mixed results in Tesla’s third-quarter earnings, the stock has surged more than 40% this year, aided by higher-than-expected profits and improved margins. Analysts, including Wedbush’s Dan Ives, believe that Tesla will ultimately find a way to award Musk the pay package to ensure his continued leadership at the company, potentially through 2030.