A Delaware judge has thrown out Elon Musk's $55 billion Tesla compensation package after a shareholder in the company challenged it. This verdict will greatly reduce Musk's wealth. Tuesday's decision means the electric car maker's board will have to come up with a new plan after the Tesla co-founder was awarded the most generous executive compensation package in history more than five years ago.
The verdict casts doubt on Musk's wealth prospects. The options, worth about $51.1 billion, are among his most expensive assets. If this part is excluded, his net worth will drop to US$154.3 billion, dropping his ranking to third in the world's richest list. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows Musk has been the world's richest man for much of the past few years.
Musk was clearly dissatisfied with the ruling, posting on the X platform: "Never register your company in Delaware."
Musk later posted: "If you want shareholders to decide things, I suggest you register your company in Nevada or Texas."
Musk has previously expressed dissatisfaction with the state of Delaware that does not allow listed companies to establish multiple shareholding structures.