Elon Musk and Tesla in legal controversy and fight over pay

7. 03. 2024 | Natalie Bezděková

Lawyers who defended the interests of Tesla shareholders and pushed for Tesla boss Elon Musk not to receive a huge agreed fee of nearly $56 billion are now demanding a record fee for their legal services. That fee would amount to nearly six billion dollars and would be paid in Tesla stock. The three law firms involved in the litigation said their demand is unprecedented in terms of its absolute size.

A demand for such a fee would mean that one hour of work by these lawyers would be valued at nearly $289,000, the equivalent of roughly 6.75 million crowns. Elon Musk has responded to this demand as criminal. However, neither Tesla nor Elon Musk’s attorneys have yet provided any comment.

If the lawyers reach their demand for such a high fee, they would break the record amount for legal services, which has been set at $688 million so far. This amount was paid to lawyers in the case of the US energy company Enron.

The fee for Elon Musk was supposed to be paid according to the achievement of certain targets, but a judge in the state of Delaware ruled that the fee agreement was improper and unfair to Tesla shareholders. These goals included achieving a certain profitability of the company and its stock price on the stock market.

This lawsuit was filed by shareholder Richard Tornett in 2018 precisely because Elon Musk had been promised a high reward from Tesla. Lawyers involved in this litigation claim that Tesla will benefit from their verdict because Tesla shares will be returned to them that would otherwise go to Elon Musk.

Photo source: www.pexels.com

Author of this article

Natalie Bezděková

I am a student of Master's degree in Political Science. I am interested in marketing, especially copywriting and social media. I also focus on political and social events at home and abroad and technological innovations. My free time is filled with sports, reading and a passion for travel.

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