International

Musk to testify at trial over his $50 bn Tesla compensation

Photo: Hoy Dinero

| By AFP | Juliette Michel |

Tesla tycoon Elon Musk will take the stand on Wednesday as part of a trial over his $50 billion pay package as CEO of the electric car giant.

Musk will testify in the same Delaware court where he faced a lawsuit by Twitter to make sure he went through with his buyout of the social platform.

The $44 billion purchase of Twitter has put Musk under a deluge of scrutiny after he conducted massive layoffs, scared advertisers and opened the platform to fake accounts.

The unrelated Tesla case is based on a complaint by shareholder Richard Tornetta, who accused Musk and the company’s board of directors of failing in their duties when they authorized the pay plan.

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Tornetta alleges that Musk dictated his terms to directors who were not sufficiently independent from their star CEO to object to a package worth around $51 billion at recent share prices.

The Tesla shareholder accuses Musk of “unjustified enrichment” and asked for the annulment of a pay program that helped make the entrepreneur the richest man in the world.

According to a legal filing, Musk earned the equivalent of $52.4 billion in Tesla stock options over four and a half years after virtually all of the company’s targets were met.

When the plan was adopted it was valued at a total of $56 billion.

The non-jury trial began Monday with testimony from Ira Ehrenpreis, head of the compensation committee on Tesla’s board of directors, who said the targets set were “extraordinarily ambitious and difficult”.

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Ehrenpreis argued that the board wanted to spur Musk to focus on Tesla at a time when the company was still struggling to gain traction.

‘Highly unusual’

The trial will run through Friday and is being presided over by Judge Kathaleen McCormick, the same judge who was to preside over the Twitter case.

There is no deadline for her decision which could take months.

It’s “highly unusual” for this kind of case to be brought to trial, Jill Fisch, Law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told AFP.

“There aren’t all that many successful challenges to executive compensation (as) the courts have typically treated this as a business decision,” she added.

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But the court found in this case that Musk’s ownership of about 22 percent of Tesla and his role as CEO “could have an undue impact” on the board and other shareholders, she noted.

Musk canceled an in-person appearance on Sunday at an event on the sidelines of the G20 in Bali to be in court.

Asked why he had not traveled to the tropical Indonesian island, the new Twitter boss joked that his “workload has recently increased quite a lot” after his takeover of the social media giant.

International

King Charles III Says U.S.-UK Alliance Is “Irreplaceable and Unbreakable”

King Charles III of the United Kingdom reaffirmed the strength of the British-American relationship on Tuesday during a speech before the United States Congress, describing the alliance between the two nations as “irreplaceable and unbreakable.”

The address, delivered at the Capitol, marked the first speech by a British monarch before Congress since Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 and comes at a time of political tensions between Donald Trump’s administration and the Labour government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“As President Trump himself observed during his state visit to Britain last autumn, the bond of kinship and identity between the United States and the United Kingdom is invaluable and eternal. It is irreplaceable and unbreakable,” the king said.

While reflecting on the upcoming 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, which will be commemorated this year, Charles III stated that the partnership between the two countries “was born out of disagreement, but is no less strong because of it.”

The monarch emphasized the democratic values shared by both nations and noted that major global changes have occurred whenever the two allies found common ground.

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“When we have found that way to agree, great changes have taken place not only for the benefit of our peoples, but for all peoples,” he said.

King Charles also quoted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who recently described the relationship as “an indispensable alliance.”

Concluding his speech, the monarch described the shared history of the United States and the United Kingdom as “a story of reconciliation, renewal, and an extraordinary partnership.”

He added that Washington and London have forged “one of the most consequential alliances in human history.”

“I pray with all my heart that our alliance continues to defend our shared values, together with our partners in Europe, the Commonwealth, and around the world, and that we ignore calls urging us to become increasingly isolationist,” Charles III stated.

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The king ended by urging both nations to “recommit to one another in selfless service to our peoples and to all peoples of the world.”

International

Trump Administration Considers Denying Green Cards Over Political Views

The administration of President Donald Trump is evaluating new immigration guidelines that could deny permanent residency to immigrants based on their political views, according to a report published by The New York Times.

The proposed measures, outlined in internal Department of Homeland Security documents, would instruct immigration officials to take applicants’ public expressions and ideological positions into account when reviewing green card applications.

According to the report, cases involving “possible anti-American and/or antisemitic conduct or ideologies” would need to be referred to higher authorities for additional review.

Even if applicants have not violated any laws, authorities could still reject residency requests if they determine that individuals have “endorsed, promoted, or supported anti-American views.”

Among the factors listed in the guidelines are participation in pro-Palestinian activities, actions considered antisemitic, and the burning of the U.S. flag.

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The documents reportedly describe such actions as “heavily negative” factors in immigration evaluations, potentially blocking applicants from obtaining permanent residency and, eventually, U.S. citizenship.

The directives also place particular attention on demonstrations held on university campuses following the 2023 Hamas attacks against Israel.

However, flag burning has previously been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court as a form of protected free speech under the Constitution.

The proposal has sparked criticism from immigrant advocacy organizations, including the New York Immigration Coalition.

Its president, Murad Awawdeh, warned that the policies could pose a threat to fundamental rights and freedoms.

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International

Mexico Arrests CJNG Leader “El Jardinero” in Nayarit

Mexican authorities arrested Audias Flores, known as “El Jardinero,” on Monday during a naval operation in the western state of Nayarit, delivering another major blow to the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).

Flores was considered one of the top regional leaders within the cartel and had reportedly overseen criminal operations along Mexico’s Pacific coast. Security analysts viewed him as a potential successor to slain drug kingpin Nemesio Oseguera.

The arrest was carried out by Mexico’s Navy Special Forces in a planned operation, according to Security Minister Omar García Harfuch.

The United States Department of the Treasury had previously identified Flores as a “significant foreign narcotics trafficker,” while U.S. authorities offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture and extradition.

A U.S. grand jury indicted Flores in 2021 on charges including conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin.

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His capture comes months after the reported death of “El Mencho,” an operation that Mexican authorities considered a priority due to the cartel leader’s alleged involvement in a 2020 assassination attempt against García Harfuch.