Meet Richard Tornetta, drummer who challenged Musk's $56bn pay package
Elon Musk's $56 billion pay package has been deemed unfair to Tesla shareholders, due to a lawsuit led by Richard Tornetta. He is a Pennsylvania, US resident, a shareholder, and a former drummer of heavy-metal band Dawn of Correction. Delaware Court of Chancery Judge Kathaleen McCormick ruled that Musk's compensation was "an unfathomable sum." This came six years after Tornetta's initial filing of a lawsuit against Musk.
Tornetta's background
Tornetta, who owned just nine Tesla shares when he filed the shareholder derivative lawsuit in 2018, has since worked in the marketing department at online real estate marketing service Homecast. Describing himself as a "marketer, inventor, custom fabricator, car guy, family man, and drummer" on his F6S profile, it is unclear if Tornetta has sold or acquired more Tesla shares since filing the complaint. Per The Wall Street Journal, Tornetta was the sole shareholder plaintiff named in the suit.
Dawn of Correction called it quits in 2007
Tornetta, who filed the lawsuit naming several Tesla directors, served as the drummer for Dawn of Correction from its formation in 2005 until its dissolution in 2007. During this period, the band released a studio album titled "Dead Hand Control" and participated in the 2006 Metal Fest, as revealed in an interview with Tornetta published on MetalUnderground.com leading up to the festival.
Musk's fortune in limbo
This lawsuit's outcome has left a significant portion of Musk's fortune in limbo. The case proceeded to trial in late 2022, and on Tuesday, a judge ruled in favor of Tornetta, invalidating the substantial compensation package, over unfairness to him and all other Tesla shareholders. Tornetta's lead lawyer, Greg Varallo of Bernstein, Litowitz, Berger & Grossmann, said of the board's decision to award Musk the largest pay package in corporate America: "This would be as though it never happened."
Possibility of appeal and Musk's reaction
Judge McCormick's ruling can be appealed in Delaware Supreme Court. Despite acknowledging that Musk's compensation plan "seems to have been calibrated to help Musk achieve what he believed would make 'a good future for humanity'," she ultimately ruled in favor of Tornetta. In response to the decision, Musk advised against incorporating companies in Delaware and mentioned moving the state of incorporation for X (formerly Twitter) from Delaware to Nevada.
