A US court has restored Elon Musk's controversial 2018 pay package from Tesla, a stock-based award now valued at a staggering $139 billion (approx. KES 18 trillion). The decision by the Delaware Supreme Court on Friday overturns a lower court's ruling that had previously voided the deal, calling it "unfathomable."

The ruling brings to a close a bitter legal fight that began when a shareholder, holding just nine shares, sued Tesla's board. The lawsuit alleged that the board members were not independent and that the process for approving the historic payout was "deeply flawed." The latest judgment, however, argued that completely canceling the package was "improper and inequitable," as it left Musk uncompensated for his leadership over six years, during which Tesla achieved ambitious performance goals.

Reacting to the verdict on his social media platform X, Musk posted a single word: "Vindicated." The decision soured Musk on Delaware, long seen as a haven for big business, prompting him to reincorporate Tesla in Texas.

An Astronomical Sum in a Kenyan Context

To put the KES 18 trillion figure into perspective, it is more than four times Kenya's entire 2025/2026 national budget of KES 4.2 trillion. It also dwarfs the market capitalization of East Africa's most profitable company, Safaricom, which stands at approximately KES 1.13 trillion. The payout is a stark illustration of the vast gap in executive compensation between global tech firms and the Kenyan corporate scene, where the highest-paid CEOs earn hundreds of millions of shillings annually.

The Legal Saga

The legal battle hinged on whether Tesla's board could fairly set its CEO's pay. In January 2024, a Delaware Chancery Court judge, Kathaleen McCormick, sided with the shareholder, concluding that Musk "controlled Tesla" and that the approval process was flawed. Despite Tesla shareholders twice voting overwhelmingly to approve the package, most recently in 2024, the lower court had maintained its opposition.

The Supreme Court's reversal noted that Musk had successfully met all the challenging performance milestones required by the 2018 deal. The ruling stated that total rescission "leaves Musk uncompensated for his time and efforts over a period of six years." The court ultimately awarded the plaintiff just $1 in nominal damages.

• Original Value: Approx. $56 billion in 2018.
• Current Value: Approx. $139 billion due to Tesla's stock surge.
• Kenyan Budget FY 2025/26: KES 4.2 trillion.
• Safaricom Market Cap: KES 1.13 trillion.

The restoration of the pay package solidifies Musk's control over the electric vehicle maker, potentially increasing his ownership stake from around 12.4% to 18.1%. The decision also allows Tesla to avoid a significant financial hit, as it can now revoke a separate, multi-billion dollar replacement package it had prepared in case the appeal was lost.

This landmark case is expected to fuel ongoing debates about corporate governance and the sheer scale of executive pay in the modern global economy. While Tesla's board has consistently argued that the package was necessary to incentivize Musk's visionary leadership, critics point to it as an extreme example of wealth concentration.