Inside Elon Musk's Major Money Problems Amid Multibillion-Dollar Loss

Even the world's richest man, Elon Musk, faces money problems from time to time — although he's likely the only person who could shake off a multi-billion dollar loss and walk away being financially secure. The Tesla CEO — and close friend of President-Elect Donald Trump — was just handed a major defeat in a Delaware court when a judge decided to uphold a previous ruling that voided a 2018 CEO compensation deal Musk had struck with his company, valued at $56 billion. On December 2, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick reaffirmed her prior decision on that the approval process for the massive compensation plan was fundamentally problematic and that Musk had used his leverage and control to influence the board responsible for the terms of the negotiation.

The compensation plan was initially contested in a lawsuit filed by Tesla shareholders. After appealing the initial ruling, Tesla called for a shareholder vote on the compensation plan in June 2024, hoping the vote would change the judge's opinion in the appeal. McCormick, however, upheld her initial ruling, stating in her opinion, "Were the court to condone the practice of allowing defeated parties to create new facts for the purpose of revising judgments, lawsuits would become interminable." (via Business Insider). She also wrote that Musk's attorneys' ratification argument was "creative" but said that their "theories go against multiple strains of settled law."

Losing out on this money did not sit well with Musk, who responded with the sort of fiery response people expect from Musk's lost history of messy social media feuds. Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that McCormick was "an activist posing as a judge" and accused her of "absolute corruption," suggesting the ruling was politically motivated.

While Elon Musk may not be able to add that $56 billion payday to his vast hoard of riches, 2024 has been a record year for the Tesla CEO when it comes to his personal wealth. According to Forbes' real-time wealth tracker, Musk is the richest man in the world, with a net worth of $334 billion as of December 4 — followed by Jeff Bezos in a distant second place with only $233.2 billion. In fact, a significant percentage of Musk's financial power has been generated in just the past month following Donald Trump's election victory.

In the wake of Trump's decision to add Musk to his administration as co-head of the soon-to-be-created Department of Government Efficiency, the value of Tesla stock has skyrocketed. Since Election Day, Musk's own bank account has benefitted dramatically, with the controversial CEO adding an estimated $70 billion to his personal wealth.

It appears that Musk's monumental financial support for Trump during the election was likely a calculated bet to increase his value and the stock price of his various endeavors. Sn equities analyst for a wealth management company spoke to Reuters, saying, "We believe the major benefits for Musk and Tesla far outweigh any negatives as this continues to be a 'poker move for the ages' by Musk betting on Trump."