Elon Musk to Testify in Tesla Shareholder Lawsuit

Shareholders have accused Musk of enriching himself to the company's detriment.

Shareholders have accused Musk of enriching himself to the company’s detriment.

In the midst of his ongoing revamp of social media platform Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been embroiled in a lawsuit cast against him by Tesla shareholders. The shareholders’ primary grievance revolves around the compensation package Musk accepted in 2018, which in the words of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, is more money than it cost to build the World Trade Center.

Musk took the stand this morning to testify on the matter. Tesla executives and lawyers have defended the package, noting that the shareholders were the ones who originally approved it back in 2018.

“It was around motivating him to achieve things that were bold and audacious and him putting his time and energy into that as opposed to his other interests,” Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm testified Tuesday.

Former Tesla Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja countered that attempting to motivate Musk in this manner was “extremely high-risk, high-reward.”

“Even though I believe in Tesla deeply, I felt the level of difficulty of these milestones was so high that for a mere mortal like me, I did not find this as a compelling incentive plan at a personal level,” Ahuja said.