Denholm, Murdoch and Musk on the hook as Tesla board pays back $1.1b

Tesla failed to provide a response to a comment request on Monday.

The pension fund from Michigan initiated legal proceedings against Tesla's board last year. Although it seems that the matter has been settled, the finalization of the agreement still awaits approval from Chief Judge Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Chancery Court.

Judge McCormick is also anticipated to soon make a decision in the lawsuit regarding Mr. Musk's remuneration. The legal challenge claims that the endorsement of the salary agreement, which is the biggest ever witnessed in the American business field, was tainted by conflicts of interest and inadequate transparency concerning performance criteria.

According to the lawsuit filed by a pension fund, Tesla granted stocks worth over $8.7 million to its two directors who were not employees in 2018. The chairwoman of the board, Ms. Denholm, who previously held a high-ranking position at Telstra and currently chairs the Australian Tech Council, was the second-highest-earning board chairman in the United States.

In the beginning of this year, it was stated by The Australian Financial Review that Ms. Denholm had received 654,160 Tesla options by the beginning of 2022. This was after she took over as the chairman in 2016, replacing Mr. Musk.

Back then, this bundle signified a monetary windfall of $US360 million ($534 million).

Even though Ms Denholm has gained more public attention recently as the leader of the influential Australian technology industry organization, she has remained silent about her position at Tesla. Despite the increasing concerns surrounding Mr. Musk's actions, she has refrained from making any public statements about her role.

In addition to Tesla, Mr. Musk has been grappling with the task of revamping Twitter, establishing a fresh artificial intelligence company, and overseeing SpaceX, among various other business endeavors.

Ms Denholm took over from Mr Musk as the chairman of the board following a settlement between Tesla and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The settlement was reached after regulators accused the billionaire CEO of breaching securities laws through his excessive tweeting about the company.

Under the terms of the director-compensation settlement, members of the Tesla board are required to surrender stocks or money and commit to not receiving any compensation for their positions as directors from 2021 till the present year, as stated in official court documents.

The panel also decided to employ an "unbiased remuneration expert" to provide guidance on matters regarding director compensation.

According to legal documents, the total worth of shares being returned is estimated to be $458,649,785, whereas the company will be receiving $276,616,720 in cash.