What's That Musk-y Smell? Insider Trading And More

It's not news that megalomaniac and crashing car mogul Elon Musk wants to play by the rules he makes, and not those of others. The latest example involves stock in his Tesla company. The erratic Musk is being sued by a Tesla stockholder for $7.5 billion of insider trading. Reuters has the story:

"A Tesla shareholder filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing CEO Elon Musk of insider trading when he sold over $7.5 billion of shares of the electric car maker in late 2022, saying the billionaire entrepreneur sold the shares before potentially disappointing production and delivery numbers were made public.

Shareholder Michael Perry, in the lawsuit filed in Delaware Chancery Court, said that Tesla's share price plummeted after the company's fourth-quarter numbers were made public on Jan. 2, 2023, and claimed that Musk 'improperly benefited' by about $3 billion in insider profits.

'Musk exploited his position at Tesla, and he breached his fiduciary duties to Tesla,' the lawsuit said, asking the court to direct Musk to return the profits made from the trades.

According to the lawsuit, Musk sold the shares on various dates in November 2022 and December 2022."(our emphasis)

This should be on the radar screen of the Securities and Exchange Commission for investigation and action. 

Musk's greed extends beyond grabbing profits from alleged insider trading, and others want to curb his appetites. The proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis is advising Tesla shareholders to reject Musk's proposed $56 billion pay package, something that the Delaware Court of Chancery voided earlier this year. From the CBS News report:

"In Tesla's case, Glass Lewis wrote in a 71-page report, shared with CBS MoneyWatch, that Tesla shareholders risk stock dilution if Musk is granted the massive stock grant, meaning that their shares could be worth less as a result. 

The proxy advisory firm also noted that Musk is well compensated through his current 12.9% ownership of Tesla, a stake that is valued at about $74 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Musk doesn't receive a salary from Tesla, but Glass Lewis noted that his shares in the company mean that his interests are already aligned with that of the business." (our emphasis)

Tesla shareholders are set to vote on the pay package on June13, and if they vote it down as they should, expect a tantrum on "X" from the spoiled brat.