Musk Defends $50 Billion Pay Deal as Justified by Tesla’s Surge

Tesla Inc.’s decision to give Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk a pay package that could be worth more than $50 billion wasn’t excessive given the electric-car maker’s stratospheric rise in value over the last decade, his lawyers said in a court filing.

Musk, the world’s richest person, must face a Delaware judge at a trial Nov. 14 to counter accusations he steamrolledTesla directors in 2018 to award him what may turn out to be one of the corporate world’s biggest pay deals ever.

Tesla investor Richard Tornetta argues directors let the billionaire entrepreneur craft his own compensation plan ...