Musk Hit Scholar With ‘Appalling’ Threats, Court Filing Says

Elon Musk went to “appalling” lengths to stop a leading scholar from weighing in on his bid to retroactively validate his $56 billion pay package after a judge struck it down, a new court filing says.

The billionaire tried to bully Charles Elson out of submitting a legal brief by having Tesla Inc. threaten to fire the law firm Holland & Knight LLP—which represents the automaker on unrelated matters—over its ties to the retired University of Delaware law professor, Elson said Monday.

The claim that Elson’s consulting relationship with Holland & Knight gave him a conflict of interest makes no ...