Elon Musk must be getting desperate, based on attempts to restore a $56 billion Tesla payout

Elon Musk is scrambling to secure a record-breaking $56 billion payday from Tesla as the automobile company’s share price collapses amid global boycotts.  Tesla, at Musk’s request, launched an appeal at Delaware’s Supreme Court seeking to reinstate the enormous sum which, if it goes through, would mark the biggest pay package in American history.

The reason Musk needs to appeal is because Delaware’s Chancery Court has repeatedly blocked his attempts to secure the payout, claiming it’s too excessive and alleging that Musk influenced Tesla’s board when they agreed to make the payment back in 2018. 

If I lost $56 billion, would I still be your favorite billionaire? pic.twitter.com/Le7n2d2Lfu

— Elon Musk – Parody (@elonmuskADO) February 20, 2025

This back-and-forth between the courts and Tesla reared its head again last year when the Chancery Court rejected paying Musk the sum despite the Tesla board’s approval. In the opening statements of the appeal, Tesla wrote that the court’s rejection of the pay scheme “defies settled principles of Delaware law, sound corporate governance, and common sense,” while Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick said in January that awarding Musk that sum would be “unfathomable.”

In a separate brief, Musk said he was seeking the payday because he has contributed greatly to Tesla over the years. “Musk cannot ‘unscramble’ the years of work he did to grow Tesla’s value,” the brief read. “[He cannot] reclaim the nights he slept on the factory floor or unwork the gruelling hours of ‘sheer … pain’ he put in to meet the company’s audacious goals.” Musk’s appeal comes amid a tumultuous period for the electric car company, which has suffered a sales decline in many key markets as a result of Musk’s foray into politics and his alliance with Donald Trump.

Elon Musk lost $56 billion today.

Billion.

With a B.#Winning pic.twitter.com/ttAa2q6KTL

— CoffeyTimeNews (@CoffeyTimeNews) January 30, 2024

Critics of Musk have launched Tesla boycotts as a result, which culminated in Trump’s involvement in the fiasco this week. The president falsely claimed on social media that such boycotts were illegal, saying they were being led by “radical left lunatics” and describing such consumer behavior as an act of “domestic terrorism.” In response, Trump then announced his intention to purchase his own Tesla in support of Musk, before spearheading what some deemed as an infomercial for the car company in a recent press appearance. 

Trump unveiled his new, bright red Tesla on the South Lawn of the White House this week, telling reporters that the company makes cars with “the coolest design.” Alongside his own newly purchased Model S Tesla — which is listed on the company’s website as fetching $73,490 — the media appearance/impromptu car lot also included four other automobiles made by Tesla, including a Cybertruck. In addition to boycotts, Tesla has also been subject to vandalism, including fires started at some charging stations. 

What are “illegal boycotts”?

Americans have the right to stop giving Tesla service. pic.twitter.com/UdWlGAqTks

— Devin Duke (@sirDukeDevin) March 11, 2025

Fears around Tesla vandalism are so heightened that at a recent Women’s March in New York, a whole squad of police officers were seen guarding a Cybertruck parked nearby. The public reaction to Musk’s company is driven by his increasing infringement on U.S. politics as the leader of the cost-cutting taskforce, DOGE, which has overseen mass layoffs across multiple federal agencies.