- Title: Musk departs SolarCity Trial after saying Tesla would 'die' if he wasn't CEO
- Date: 12th July 2021
- Summary: WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, UNITED STATES (JULY 12, 2021)(REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF COURT TESLA CEO ELON MUSK EXITING COURTROOM WITH ENTOURAGE, WAVING TO PEOPLE OFF CAMERA AND GESTURING, THEN GETTING INTO WAITING TESLA CAR TESLA CARRYING MUSK DRIVING AWAY AND OUT OF GATE EXTERIOR OF COURT
- Embargoed: 26th July 2021 22:38
- Keywords: CEO SolarCity Tesla court investment legal shareholders technology
- Location: WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, UNITED STATES
- City: WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions,United States,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001ELJEK3R
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Elon Musk insisted in court on Monday (July 12) that Tesla Inc's board controls the company but said the electric vehicle maker would "die" if he wasn't the chief executive, as he testified in defense of Tesla's 2016 acquisition of SolarCity.
Musk departed the court in Wilmington, Delaware after testifying.
The lawsuit by union pension funds and asset managers alleges the celebrity CEO strong-armed Tesla's board of directors into depleting the company's assets with the $2.6 billion all-stock deal for SolarCity, which was running out of cash.
Musk at the time owned a 22% stake in both Tesla and SolarCity, which was founded by his cousins, and some Tesla shareholders alleged the deal was aimed at bailing out Musk's investment in the solar panel company.
Kicking off a two-week trial, Musk, testified that he has tried "very hard not to be the CEO of Tesla, but I have to or frankly Tesla is going to die."
The lawsuit accuses Musk of dominating the board's deal discussions, pushing Tesla to pay more for SolarCity and misleading shareholders about the company's deteriorating financial health.
Musk told the court that the Tesla board handled the SolarCity deal and he was not part of the board committee that negotiated the terms.
(Production: Kevin Fogarty; Ashraf Fahim) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
