Billionaire CEO Elon Musk testified in court on Wednesday to defend against the shareholder lawsuit that questioned his 2018 compensation package.
The lawsuit against Musk and Tesla’s board was headed by Tesla shareholder Richard J. Tornetta, who said that the automotive company was mistaken for awarding Musk with the 2018 compensation package that was worth $56 billion at that time.
When questioned by Greg Varallo, Tornetta’s lawyer, Musk took a stand and described the grueling efforts needed in order to save the company from the brink of collapse, adding, “The amount of pain, no words can express. It’s pain I would not wish to inflict upon anyone.”
Despite having a history of being a hostile witness and being known for calling lawyers “a bad human being,” Musk acted relatively restrained during the proceedings, albeit occasionally expressing his frustration to Tornetta’s attorney.
At one point in Wednesday’s trial, Musk said to Varallo, “I believe you are asking complex questions where yes or not is not possible. Yes is more accurate than no. But your question is a complex question that is commonly used to mislead people.”
Musk also said that although he was not a lawyer, “when you’re in enough lawsuits you pick up a few things along the way.”
In the trial, Varallo persistently portrayed Musk as a dictator who bypassed Tesla’s board on more than one occasion. However, there seems to be no definitive proof that Musk had procured the 2018 compensation package solely on his own.
Musk to Find a New CEO for Twitter
Musk also said on the Wednesday trial that he would eventually shorten his working time at Twitter and search for a new leader that will manage the social media platform.
According to Musk, “There’s an initial burst of activity needed post-acquisition to reorganize the company,” before adding, “But then I expect to reduce my time at Twitter.”
Musk later clarified in a tweet that although “it will take some time,” he would continue to run Twitter until it was on the right path.
