Meet the heavy metal drummer who cost Musk $56 billion

 

Stuart Grant, Richard Tornetta's lawyer, sees the ruling as a 'vindication' for his client and a 'wake-up call' for Tesla's board. Grant, a former corporate-defense lawyer, now represents shareholders in suits against executives and boards. This case highlights the importance of individual investors like Tornetta in holding corporate giants accountable. Musk said he was "disappointed" by the ruling and called it 'unfair' and 'wrong'.

In a stunning legal upset, Elon Musk, the visionary behind Tesla, faced one of the heftiest legal defeats in US corporate history. A Delaware court axed Musk's whopping $56 billion compensation package, a decision steered by an unlikely figure: Richard Tornetta, a former heavy metal drummer with a modest nine-share stake in Tesla.
Tornetta's 2018 lawsuit, deemed a long shot by many, crescendoed to a landmark verdict this Tuesday.

Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick found the approval process for Musk's pay deal "deeply flawed," resetting the tune for corporate governance. The ruling, essentially erasing the mammoth pay package, comes as a shockwave, not just to Musk, but to corporate boardrooms nationwide.