Elon Musk's personal fortune could face major hit after Tesla payout block

A US judge has ordered Elon Musk to return a corporate payout worth nearly $56 billion.

Musk must return the pay package he received from Tesla after a court in Delaware made the ruling on Tuesday (January 30).

It means that Musk, who is the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink, may lose his position as one of the world’s richest people.

"Put simply, neither the compensation committee nor the board acted in the best interests of the company when negotiating Musk’s compensation plan. In fact, there is barely any evidence of negotiations at all," wrote judge Kathaleen McCormick.

McCormick also described Musk as a "superstar CEO" who used his influence over the company and close ties with multiple board members to create a "deeply flawed" approval process that arrived at an "unfair price".

In response, Musk wrote on X: “Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware."

The court order could mean that Musk’s estimated $200bn-plus fortune would be slashed, and he could drop below Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in the rankings of the wealthiest people on Earth.

The news came just hours after Musk announced that Neuralink had attached an implant into a person’s brain for the first time.

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