Tesla Shareholders Overwhelmingly Back Elon Musk's $50 Billion Compensation Plan

 Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday night the company’s shareholders voted to reinstate his massive 2018 compensation deal—estimated to be worth around $50 billion—months after it was invalidated by a Delaware judge.

In a post on X, Musk said the shareholder resolutions on his pay and reincorporating the company in Texas were “passing by wide margins.”

The post included a graph showing both measures already had significantly more votes than needed to pass.

The push to change Tesla’s state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas was also spearheaded by Musk after he conducted a “public vote” on his X account.

Musk thanked Tesla shareholders and his supporters on X and answered “yes” when one of his followers said “we got you the options now you have to make Tesla the most valuable company on Earth.”

Tesla’s shares surged nearly 6.5% in premarket trading early Thursday before settling at around $187—up 5.45% from the previous day.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott congratulated Musk in a X post: “Congrats Elon on getting the pay you were promised and on your new incorporation in Texas. Welcome to a state that has neither a personal nor a corporate income tax.”

Although the shareholder vote has been in Musk’s favor, it does not immediately overturn Delaware Court of Chancery Judge Kathaleen McCormick’s January ruling. The company has even acknowledged in its security filings that a favorable vote may not solve the pay issue. However, Tesla could use the result of the vote to signal to the judge that Musk’s pay package has broad shareholder support. According to Reuters, Donald Ball, a Tesla shareholder, has already filed a legal challenge against the vote. In his suit, Ball accuses Musk of using “strong-arm, coercive tactics,” to get his desired outcome in the vote.

In January, McCormick voided Musk’s record pay package, estimated to be worth around $50 billion, in a case brought by a Tesla shareholder. The plaintiff argued the massive pay package was unfair to shareholders and Tesla’s board had failed in its fiduciary duty by approving it. Musk railed against the ruling and lashed out at the state of Delaware: “Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware.” Musk then announced plans to hold a shareholder vote to transfer the company’s state of incorporation to Texas.

If the pay package passes all legal hurdles, it could boost Musk’s equity in Tesla from 13% to 22%. This would get the billionaire close to his demand of controlling 25% of voting power in the company. Musk has said he is “uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics” without having around 25% of the voting power in the company. The billionaire argued that having less than 15% power meant a “takeover by dubious interests [was]

too easy” and if his demand isn’t fulfilled he would “prefer to build products” outside of Tesla. Since then, Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI