Musk's Tesla pay was structured without a salary to involve 12 stock option awards that would only be given once performance goals for each of them were met. Though Musk can appeal the decision, there are signs that this battle is about more than just the massive pay package that has propelled him to a $205 billion fortune. The carmaker is currently worth $600 billion, up from roughly $50 billion in 2018, when Musk received his pay plan. So it's reasonable to take Musk at face value when he says his Tesla pay, as McCormick put it, is a "means of bankrolling that mission." Closer to home, Musk's legal battle could trigger a rethink of where Corporate America goes to do business.

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