Elon Musk doubled down on his vow to move his many businesses out of Delaware, filing to relocate his space exploration company SpaceX to Texas after his massive Tesla payout was stuck down.
Musk announced the filing with the Texas Secretary of State’s Office to incorporate SpaceX in Texas, where he lives, in an X post on Wednesday, suggesting to other executives: “If your company is still incorporated in Delaware, I recommend moving to another state as soon as possible.”
The world’s richest person — with a fortune worth $205 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, most of which is thanks to his Tesla shares — has also moved to relocate his brain-chip implant company Neuralink from Delaware to Nevada.
Musk has been at war with the usually corporate-friendly First State after Judge Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware’s Court of Chancery last month rejected Musk’s record-breaking $56 billion Tesla pay package, deeming it “an unfathomable sum” that’s unfair to shareholders.
McCormick made the ruling after a suit brought by Tesla stockowner Richard Tornetta, who manned the drumkit for Philadelphia-based thrash band Dawn of Correction.
Tornetta owned just nine shares of Tesla stock when he first brought legal action against the electric vehicle-maker.
McCormick said her 201-page opinion in favor of Tornetta that Musk’s compensation plan “seems to have been calibrated to help Musk achieve what he believed would make ‘a good future for humanity.’”
Musk can appeal the ruling in Delaware Supreme Court, and has said on X that “Tesla will move immediately to hold a shareholder vote to transfer state of incorporation to Texas.”
However, SpaceX’s status as a privately-held company allows Musk and the space company’s leadership to expedite the process of changing its state of incorporation.
Musk celebrated the occasion by posting an animated SpaceX logo shining across the silhouette of Texas.
On Tuesday, Tornetta’s attorney, Greg Varallo, penned a letter to the court asking that McCormick pause her ruling until an appeal is resolved.
Varallo told Reuters the two sides will agree to a stay if they can reach a deal on an appeal bond.
Before Musk can appeal, the two sides will propose a final order for approval by the judge, which will include a petition for a legal fee, which will be paid by Tesla.
Given the enormous verdict, the sum is expected to be among the largest legal fees paid out by a company ever. It’s also anticipated to be opposed by Tesla, which boasts a market cap of roughly $609 billion.
Representatives for Musk at Tesla and SpaceX did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
