Musk’s $55 billion Tesla pay package struck down, threatening status

Elon Musk’s $55 billion pay package at Tesla has been struck down by a Delaware judge after a shareholder challenged it as excessive, in a ruling that would take a giant bite out of Musk’s wealth and put the fate of his companies in question — if the ruling survives a likely appeal.

The decision Tuesday, which amounts to Musk’s first major loss in court, means that more than five years after the electric carmaker’s co-founder was granted the largest executive compensation plan in history, Tesla’s board will have to start over and come up with a new proposal.

Musk never attempted to exercise his options since they’d been challenged in Delaware Chancery Court. Tesla’s share price slid about 3% in after-hours trading on the news.