That sum (55.8 billion, dollar more, dollar less, in short not peanuts) is needed by Elon Musk to live in comfort, but to colonize Mars, to transform man not only with microchips implanted in the brain but making him a multiplanetary species. He doesn't care, in other words, about the ranking of the richest people in the world where, without that treasure, he would slip to the miserable third place behind Bernard Arnault, the boss of LVMH, and his fierce rival Jeff Bezos (Amazon and Blue Origin), another Scrooge who sends rockets into space even though so far he has eaten dust compared to Musk's stellar SpaceX.
The fact is that the maxi compensation of 55.8 billion dollars granted by Tesla to Elon Musk in 2018 has been cancelled "because it is excessive and improperly approved by the Tesla board of directors", on which the billionaire has a lot of influence. That Musk has influence on that board is to say the least taken for granted.
@ilmessaggero.it Starship the SpaceX rocket for future moon landings carried out its first test yesterday. For 3 minutes and 59 seconds this was the most powerful rocket ever built and launched. But the flight ended early due to a problem. Space X has not released statements. Here's what we know. #IlMessaggero #starship #spacex #elonmusk #rocket #moon #space #space #launch ♬ Epic Music(836380) - Pavel
The decision of the Delaware judge, Kathaleen McCormick, puts at risk the title of the richest man in the world that dances on the figure of 200 billion dollars.
For the boss of Tesla, the Delaware decision is a severe blow that risks overshadowing the success of Neuralink in implanting its first chip in a human being and which weighs on Tesla's shares that lose more than 1.5% on Wall Street.
In motivating her decision, the judge described Musk's compensation as an "incomprehensible figure", "unprecedented" and "incredible". And she defined the process that led the board to approve it as "deeply flawed": "It is surprising that there were no significant negotiations on the terms of the plan" and on its structure, said McCormick, defining Musk as a "Ceo Superstar" with "close ties to the people who should deal and negotiate in the interest of Tesla".
The members of the board of directors - she added - "cooperated with Musk, not dealt against him". During the trial on his compensation - the highest in history - Musk had assured that he would use the resources to finance the colonization of Mars, one of his dreams.
"Colonizing Mars is expensive. Musk believes he has a moral obligation to direct his wealth towards this goal, including his compensation at Tesla", the judge further noted in her ruling, explaining how for the billionaire his work in the electric car giant has value only if the resources it generates can create a "multi-planet life".
By agreeing with the Tesla shareholders who had sued and referring to the parties involved the definition of how Musk will have to return the figure, McCormick with her decision fuels the debate on the composition of the Tesla board and its adequacy to control the billionaire. But also on how the board will respond to Musk's request to have a larger stake in the company, at least 25%, to prevent it from being purchased and to develop robots and other artificial intelligence technology. It is not the first time that the relations between Musk and the Tesla board of directors end up under the lens.
Already in 2021, they were scrutinized in a Delaware court for the purchase of SolarCity, another Musk company. The judge in that case, however, sided with the billionaire, ruling that the board had examined the agreement accurately and appropriately and had not approved it under Musk's influence.
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