Elon Musk Set for Potential Trillion-Dollar Windfall Following Delaware Supreme Court Ruling
The Delaware Supreme Court has reinstated Elon Musk's 2018 Tesla stock options worth $139 billion, overturning a 2024 lower-court decision that had rescinded the pay package. Forbes currently estimates Musk's net worth at $749 billion, surpassing the $700 billion milestone and making him the world's richest person, ahead of Larry Page by about $500 billion.
Exercising all the 2018 options would increase Musk's stake in Tesla from approximately 12.4% to about 18.1% of an expanded share base. The original 2018 stock package was valued at around $56 billion at the time but was struck down in 2024 as unfathomable.
Tesla awarded Musk a pay plan worth up to $1 trillion in November, which requires achieving five major milestones over the next decade to fully pay out. These milestones include delivering 20 million vehicles and 1 million robots, obtaining 10 million subscriptions to Tesla's self-driving feature, reaching 1 million self-driving Robotaxis, generating up to $400 billion in core profit, and lifting Tesla's market value to $8.5 trillion.
If these targets are met, more than 400 million additional shares could be issued, valued at approximately $1 trillion based on the company's target market value. Tesla is currently valued at around $1.51 trillion.
The pay plan was approved by 75% of Tesla shareholders despite concerns raised by Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick about conflicts of interest among directors and undisclosed key facts during the plan's approval. The Delaware Supreme Court ruled that rescinding the plan left Musk uncompensated for six years of effort.
Following the ruling, Musk posted on X that he was vindicated, although no formal statement has been issued.
