Elon Fights To Avoid Paying Lawyers $370K/hr, $56 Billion Pay Package Hangs By A Thread

The lawyers who went toe-to-toe with Elon Musk over his insane pay package and asked for $370,000 an hour in legal fees might just get their astronomical payday after all. 

Yup, you read that right. They want a whopping $7.3 billion in fees, which is basically them asking for a pile of Tesla stock the size of a small country.

Today, in a last-ditch effort to protect his $56 billion pay package, Elon Musk made his final plea to Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick. You'd think Elon would have his hands full with opening a private school in Austin and his ongoing beef with Zuck, where he recently quipped that their fight wouldn’t last long because “he’s a little fella.” But hey, when 56 billion dollars are at stake, you clear your schedule.

(Source: Business Insider)

Back in June, Tesla’s shareholders gave Musk’s mega pay deal the green light. But Judge McCormick, who already flagged the package as shady due to conflicts of interest and questionable disclosures, isn’t swayed by their vote. She thinks it’s like trying to change the score of a game after it’s already over.

Tesla’s lawyer, David Ross (who, by the way, isn’t asking for $370,000 an hour), fervently argued that the shareholder vote should count. He basically said, "Sure, the process was a mess, but the shareholders still want it, so give the people what they want." We all know Elon loves hogging the spotlight, but even he must be getting tired of these courtroom appearances. Meanwhile, in another episode of "Elon’s Wild Adventures," Don Lemon is trying to get revenge by slapping Musk with a lawsuit accusing him and X of fraud. Looks like Elon’s Google Calendar is going to need a serious upgrade to fit all this drama in doesn’t it?

Judge McCormick, however, wasn’t buying it entirely. Ross admitted that using an investor vote to change a post-trial decision is a first in Delaware law. She doesn’t have to consider it, but she might. If she sticks to her decision, Musk can appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court.

(Source: Observer)

Musk’s team argued that the shareholder vote addressed the judge’s issues, like board members being too cozy with Musk. Tornetta’s lawyers countered that the vote didn’t matter and Tesla’s fixes weren’t enough. It’s like that spiderman meme once again with everyone pointing fingers.

At the end of the day, even being the richest man in the world only gets you so far. Judge McCormick holds all the power here, and her final decision on the vote’s relevance won’t come until later this year. She’ll also decide if Tornetta’s lawyers get their enormous fees paid in Tesla stock—depending on when they get it, they could end up as either millionaires or multibillionaires. I guess when it rains it pours because on top of the bad news, Tesla is currently trading down 4% for the day.

Stock.News has positions in Tesla.