Elon Musk wins record-breaking pay package worth $56 billion

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk won a massive pay package worth up to $56 billion (£43.9 billion) after shareholders voted in favour of Musk at their annual meeting in Texas.

Tesla conducted the re-voting in response to judge Kathaleen McCormick from Delaware who described the pay package as "unfathomable" and sided with a small investor who had sued over the deal, Reuters reported.

The Space X founder has also announced to move Tesla's legal headquarters from Delaware to Texas.

Expressing his happiness, Musk said to shareholders assembled in Texas for the meeting, "Hot damn, I love you guys. We have the most awesome shareholder base. I mean, it’s just incredible."

The huge pay amount has drawn severe criticism and concerns as the board has been accused of being too submissive to Musk.

However, the vote is not binding, and legal experts have said it is not clear if a court that blocked the deal will accept the re-vote and allow the company to restore the pay package.

According to Mathieu Shapiro, a managing partner at law firm Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell and Hippel, "The vote changes nothing."

The package was originally approved by investors in 2018, but a Delaware court struck it down in January 2024, prompting Tesla to launch a campaign to revive it.