Elon Musk Has $46 Billion Pay Deal Approved Months After Massive Compensation Plan Was Shut Down by Judge

Elon Musk is getting another massive payday.

On Thursday, June 13, CBS News and CNBC that the businessman was approved for a significant pay package valued at $46 billion, which had previously been denied by a Delaware judge in January and was ultimately voted for by Tesla shareholders at their annual meeting in Austin.

Musk, 52, was being considered for the pay package's restoration, and the SEC reported that 77% of those who voted approved of Musk’s payout. The salary deal apparently delighted the SpaceX founder, with the vote's outcome resulting in a standing ovation, CBS News reported.

"Hot damn, I love you guys," Musk said at the shareholders meeting when the announcement was made, per CBS News. "It's incredible. I think we're not just opening a new chapter for Tesla, we're starting a new book," he added, continuing, "We're starting to make a real noticeable dent in carbon emissions."

The entrepreneur also told stakeholders that he intended to stick around for five years, as he is unable to sell any stock that is part of his pay deal until that time elapsed. “It’s not actually cash, and I can’t cut and run, nor would I want to,” he explained of the agreement.

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Musk owns roughly 13% of Tesla shares, according to CBS News, which is worth $73 billion, and about $71 billion worth of stock in SpaceX.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index's latest valuation, which was updated on June 13, Musk's net worth is $203 billion.

In January, a Delaware judge ruled that Musk was not entitled to the massive pay package. Tesla previously approved the package in 2018, making it the “largest potential compensation opportunity ever observed in public markets by multiple orders of magnitude."

Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick ruled that the pay package was "deeply flawed" since he had “extensive ties with the persons tasked with negotiating on Tesla’s behalf." Ultimately, Tesla's board wasn't able to prove that the compensation plan was fair and noted that Musk hadn’t been paid by Tesla since 2019.

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Although this deal was approved, there may be a delay in Musk receiving the payout. Tesla will be working to overturn the Delaware judge’s January rejection to ensure Musk is compensated as the company planned.

"Elon has not been paid for any of his work for Tesla for the past six years that has helped to generate significant growth and stockholder value,” Tesla chairwoman Robyn Denholm wrote in a statement on Tesla's website, addressing shareholders to ratify the proposed compensation plan for Musk.

Denholm added that circumstances at the time were "fundamentally unfair, and inconsistent with the will of the stockholders who voted for it."