Elon Musk's Mega Pay Deal Axed: What Happens Next?

Elon Musk's massive $56 billion pay package from Tesla was shot down by a judge in Delaware on Monday. This didn't come as a total surprise, as the deal was already challenged by shareholders back in 2018. What makes this story interesting is that even though most Tesla investors voted to approve the pay package, the judge still found it to be "deeply flawed. " Basically, the judge said the deal wasn't put together properly and didn't meet the right legal standards for how executives should get paid.The court didn't just stop at rejecting the pay package, though. It also handed a big win to the lawyers who fought against Musk's pay deal. These lawyers got a sweet $345 million in attorney fees. That's a lot of money, right? Tesla can pay this either in cash or by issuing stock that can be sold on the market. But here’s where things get interesting. Musk could pocket all this money, but he might not be done fighting. He could take his case to the Delaware Supreme Court and try again. If he does, this could really shake things up in how companies decide how to pay their top execs and how much say shareholders have in those decisions. Even with this setback, Musk's wealth keeps climbing. In just a few weeks, his net worth has jumped by $43 billion, thanks to a big boost in Tesla's stock price.