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The judge who threw out Tesla<\/a> Inc. co-founder Elon Musk\u2019s record-setting $55.8 billion pay package said she\u2019s received \u201cmany communications\u201d from investors about the request from the winning lawyers for almost $6 billion<\/a> in company stock<\/a>. <\/p>\n Delaware Chancery Court Chief Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick<\/a> said she\u2019s not reading the letters. The state judiciary\u2019s ethics code \u201cprohibits me from considering\u201d the letters from non-parties in the litigation \u201cwho claim to hold stock in Tesla,\u201d she wrote to lawyers on both sides. She asked the attorneys to recommend a process for handling the letters.<\/p>\n In January, McCormick concluded that the compensation plan \u2014 the largest ever given to a corporate executive in the US \u2014 was excessive and that Tesla\u2019s directors were handcuffed by conflicts of interest when they approved it in 2018. The judge also faulted Tesla\u2019s public disclosure about the pay package.<\/p>\n This month, lawyers representing the investor who challenged the pay package, Richard Tornetta, submitted an unusual request to be paid their fees in stock \u2014 which they said would ease the burden on company shareholders.<\/p>\n That didn\u2019t go over well with some investors, who launched a letter-writing campaign.<\/p>\n Shareholder Alexandra Merz urged fellow investors in a post on social media platform X<\/a> to \u201csend tens of thousands of letters\u201d to McCormick and \u201cdescribe in your own passionate words in a VERY RESPECTFUL MANNER\u201d how there is no financial benefit from the judge\u2019s ruling striking down the pay package that \u201ccould serve as the basis of calculation for plaintiff attorney fees.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cElon Musk deserves the original compensation package in full,\u201d reads another X post. \u201cOn top of that, I was surprised to learn that the lawyers who filed and \u2018won\u2019 this Class Action lawsuit demanded a roughly $5.9 billion compensation in Tesla shares, claiming it was to protect Tesla shareholders. Nothing could be further from the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n Doing my part as a $TSLA<\/a> shareholder#DelawareCourt81<\/a> #Tesla<\/a>@TeslaBoomerMama<\/a> @elonmusk<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/u2Tes11G2g<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Fabian Ebert (@Fabian10O) March 10, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The case is Tornetta v. Musk, 2018-0408, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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