Tesla shareholders on Tuesday called on the court to recover $13 billion from Elon Musk for his role in SolarCity's acquisition, Reuters reported.
Musk said the deal to acquire SolarCity would allow Tesla to become the world's first trillion-dollar company as a "solution to Earth's climate change."
SolarCity is a company that installs solar panels for residential, commercial and industrial customers. It was acquired by Tesla in 2016 after Elon Musk presented it to the board of directors, but the plaintiffs allege he misrepresented SolarCity's financial condition.
At the time of the purchase of all shares, Musk was the largest shareholder of SolarCity and its chairman. As a result of what plaintiffs describe as a clear conflict of interest, SolarCity was founded by Musk and two of his cousins, Lyndon Reeve and Peter Reeve.
In a series of lawsuits, Tesla's directors were sued for allegedly succumbing to Musk's influence and relinquishing their financial obligations by agreeing to the deal.
In August 2020, a judge approved a $60 million settlement that resolved claims filed by all directors on Tesla's board of directors except Musk without admitting guilt. Thus, Musk, who refused to settle the dispute, remained the only remaining defendant.
