Judge Kathaleen McCormick ruled that the Tesla board, which she described as overly influenced by Elon Musk, failed to prove the package was reasonableThomas Hawk|CC BY-NC 2.0

A Delaware judge reinstated a previous judgment that Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s historic $56 billion pay package in 2018 was improperly granted. It marks the second time Judge Kathaleen McCormick rejected the compensation plan, which she says breached the company’s fiduciary duty.

Though the multi-billion-dollar package was approved by Tesla shareholders in 2018 and re-approved in June, McCormick says that didn’t mean the payout was in shareholders’ best interests.

McCormick ruled that the Tesla board, which she described as overly influenced by Musk, failed to prove the package was reasonable. The court also approved $345 million in attorney fees for the shareholders’ lawyers. 

Musk labeled the judgment as “absolute corruption.”