Tesla shareholders wanted Elon Musk to pay $2.6 billion for SolarCity Acquisition.
On Wednesday, a Delaware court ruled in favour of Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk against a lawsuit from Tesla Shareholders, believing the Acquisition of SolarCity was a bailout since the company was owned by Musk’s cousins.
Elon Musk said to his attorney: “Since it was a stock-for-stock transaction and I owned almost exactly the same percentage of both [companies] there was no financial gain,” according to The Guardian.
Vice-Chancellor Joseph R. Slights, the judge on the case, stated (via CNBC): “Elon was more involved in the process than a conflicted fiduciary should be. And conflicts among other Tesla Board members were not completely neutralized. With that said, the Tesla Board meaningfully vetted the Acquisition, and Elon did not stand in its way.”
Shareholders wanted Musk to pay $2.6 billion, claiming that Musk put pressure on Tesla’s board regarding the Acquisition, which Musk denied.
During the trial, Musk stated that the Acquisition of SolarCity was part of his “Master Plan, Part Deux” that he wrote last 2006 and was meant to develop the use of sustainable energy.
If Musk had lost the case, he would have to pay upwards of $2 billion, which can likely be appealed.
