• Elon Musk has criticized a Delaware judge’s recent rejection of his mega pay package.
• Tesla’s CEO called the verdict “completely crazy” and “absolute corruption.”
• Tesla said it would appeal the Chancellery judge’s decision.

Elon Musk has criticized a Delaware judge’s recent rejection of his mega pay package.

In posts on his social media platform X, the world’s richest person called the verdict “completely crazy” and “absolute corruption.”

The compensation plan was introduced in 2018 and was worth $56 billion when it was overturned in January by Chancellor Judge Kathleen St. J. McCormick.

She ruled that Tesla gave little reason for its decision on the package and that Musk had undue influence on the board because of his close ties to some directors.

“The process that led to the approval of Musk’s compensation plan was deeply flawed,” McCormick wrote. “Musk had extensive relationships with the people who were supposed to negotiate on behalf of Tesla.”

Following that ruling, Tesla presented shareholders with a vote on the compensation plan in June to reinstate it. Investors voted in favor of approval, and the electric vehicle maker argued that the package was necessary to allow Musk to remain focused on Tesla.

The Delaware judge on Monday affirmed her earlier finding, saying the board was unduly influenced by Musk in reaching the price level.

“The large and talented group of defense contractors got creative with the ratification argument, but their unprecedented theories contradict several strands of existing law,” McCormick wrote.

In a post on X, Tesla said it would appeal the ruling.

After the verdict was announced, Musk and Tesla supporters took to social media.

“Startup formation in Delaware used to be automatic,” Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham wrote on X. “That will no longer be the case when activist judges start overruling shareholders.”

“Tonight the CEO of a publicly traded company told me that all startups should re-incorporate in Nevada. This appears to be the best alternative, and for startups that are still private, it is trivially easy,” he said in a separate post.