The lawyers who helped bring the lawsuit against Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package are now asking the company to pay more than $7 billion in legal fees.
Lawyers representing Tesla shareholder Richard Tornetta upped their fee request in Delaware court Monday, asking for $7.2 billion in the electronic carmaker’s stock based on Friday’s price. According to estimates, that comes out to just under $370,000 an hour.
The fees would translate into around 29 million shares in Tesla stock, which has steadily risen since last week’s better-than-expected sales numbers. The lawyers say they are entitled to the fees because they have worked on a contingency basis for six years on behalf of shareholders fighting Mr. Musk’s compensation package.
The lawyers submitted their request to the same judge who rejected Mr. Musk’s pay package back in January, Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick. If Judge McCormick finds that the fees are reasonable, Mr. Musk will have to appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court to overturn the ruling.
Monday’s fee request is a massive jump from the lawyers’ last request in March, where the firms requested around $6 billion in Tesla stock. Mr. Musk and Tesla shareholders have publicly rejected the firms’ fee requests.
“The lawyers who did nothing but damage Tesla want $6 billion. Criminal,” Mr. Musk wrote on X.
Tesla shareholders re-endorsed Mr. Musk’s record pay package last month during its annual shareholder meeting, with many powerful investors arguing that keeping the entrepreneur happy was important for the health of the company.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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