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Tesla investors were “coerced” and “uninformed” during Musk pay ratification vote: lawyers
The legal team of Tesla investor Richard Tornetta, who held nine TSLA shares when he filed a complaint in Delaware against CEO Elon Musk’s 2018 CEO Performance Award, is not happy about Tesla’s efforts to urge the court to consider the ratification of Musk’s pay package. As per Tornetta’s lawyers, the ratification vote was coerced and uninformed — and thus invalid.
In a filing, Tornetta’s lawyers argued that the the Delaware Court should reject the efforts of Tesla’s legal team to consider the ratification of Musk’s compensation plan by the company’s shareholders at the 2024 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting. As could be seen in the filing, Tornetta’s lawyers immediately criticized Tesla for the EV maker’s attempts to revise the court’s initial opinion about the case.
“Ten leading law firms and an unlimited budget. And they still could not find it. A case, any case, holding stockholders can usurp the Supreme Court’s role and reverse this Court’s trial judgment. Quod erat demonstrandum. Delaware is not Athens. The stockholder franchise—however important—is not a ‘get out of [rescission] free’ card. Defendants’ proposal is a dangerous paradigm shift: Courts would be subject to vox populi, and stockholders could overturn trial judgments,” Tornetta’s lawyers wrote.
⚖️ T(h)ornetta
Hearing for the motion to revise the initial opinion now scheduled for August 2nd (rumors for 8/8 were wrong)
Plaintiff's attorney filed his opposition to this, his arguments are
– The court cannot reopen the closed trial record to consider new evidence
– The… pic.twitter.com/mz3wyAUy57— Ale?andra Merz (@TeslaBoomerMama) July 15, 2024
The plaintiff’s legal team also argued that despite the successful ratification of Elon Musk’s 2018 pay package at the 2024 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting, shareholders were still coerced and uninformed. The lawyers pointed to Musk’s comments that he would reconsider growing Tesla’s AI efforts if his share of the company was less than 25%, among other things, as a sign of shareholder coercion.
“As the Ratification vote approached, the press repeatedly reported that rejecting the Ratification would cause Musk to execute his threats to divert critical corporate opportunities from Tesla. These circumstances rendered the Ratification vote coercive—and thus invalid—by making it impossible for stockholders’ to exercise their franchise free of undue external pressure created by [Musk] that distract[ed] them from the merits of the decision under consideration,’ and ‘forc[ing] [stockholders] into a choice between a new position and a compromised position for reasons other than those related to the economic merits of the decision,’” Tornetta’s lawyers wrote.
They also argued that investors were uninformed since Tesla director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, who served as the Special Committee of the company’s Board of Directors, was conflicted because a substantial portion of her net worth is tied to the EV maker. “Wilson-Thompson has realized a pre-tax total of approximately $62[M] from the exercise of [Tesla] equity award. Her Tesla shares received through grants were worth ~$150M upon her Committee appointment, which she admits ‘is a meaningful portion of her net worth’… Wilson-Thompson is conflicted just like Denholm,” Tornetta’s lawyers wrote.
A hearing for the motion to revise the Delaware Court’s initial opinion on the matter is scheduled on August 2, 2024. A number of Tesla shareholders who voted in the ratification of Musk’s pay package have noted that they intend to attend the hearing if it is public.
Rochard Tornetta’s lawyers’ filing (via PlainSite) can be viewed below.
gov.uscourts.delch.2018-0408-KSJM.405.0 by Simon Alvarez on Scribd
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Tesla has officially launched the Model Y L in the United States and Puerto Rico for $61,990. It is the longer-wheelbase version of the Model Y, and has been available in China since last year.
Tesla brings the Model Y L to the U.S. just months after it phased out the only pure SUV in its lineup, the Model X. It is slightly longer than the Model Y configurations that are already available in the U.S., and features a three-row, six-seat setup with Captain’s Chairs being among the many features that make this a truly fantastic offering.
The Model Y L is priced competitively at $61,990, and features 325 miles of range and a 0-60 MPH in just 4.4 seconds.
Tesla also added a handful of new features that are not available in even the Premium Model Y. Here’s a full list of its features:
- Heated/Ventilated Front Seats with Powered Thigh Cushion
- Heated/Ventilated Captain’s Seats in Second Row with Powered Armrests & One-Touch Fold
- Heated Third-Row Seats with Power Recline, One-Touch Fold & Child Seat Anchors
- Improved Airflow, Increased Efficiency, More Range
- 89 cubic feet of trunk space
- Upgraded Acoustic Glass and Suspension to Minimize Road Noise
- Adaptive Damping for a Smooth, Stable Ride
- Staggered Tires for Enhanced Grip
- Larger Tailgate for Better Rear Visibility and Bigger Windows Overall
- 16″ First Row and 8″ Second Row Touchscreens
- 19-Speaker Immersive Tesla Audio
- 50W Wireless Charging Pads with Active Cooling and Charging Ports for All Other Seats
- FSD Supervised and Integrated Grok AI
Tesla is also delivering these first units as a “Launch Series,” which comes with additional features, such as:
- Door Trim Puddle Lights
- Suede Dashboard Wing
- Exterior and Interior Badging
- Floor Mats
- Sill Plates
The launch of the Model Y L in the U.S. marks a huge offering from Tesla to U.S. consumers. People have been calling for Tesla to bring a larger car to the U.S., and it needed it more than ever now that the Model X is gone.
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- Credit: Tesla
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- Credit: Tesla
It is a huge accomplishment for Tesla to get the Model Y L to the U.S., and after reporting strong deliveries today, it will be interesting to see how this car impacts future quarterly delivery reports.
Deliveries for the Model Y L “Launch Series” are slated for September or October of this year.
Tesla just told us twice that the Model Y L is coming to the U.S., and two social media posts definitely just tipped the company’s hand, as if they wanted it to be any other way.
The two social media posts basically confirm that the slightly longer version of the Model Y will be heading to the United States soon, and many have speculated that the company could launch the vehicle as soon as this weekend.
The first post was directly from Tesla, and it showed an incredibly long Dachshund, with words above that said, “Looking forward to the long weekend.”
Looking forward to the long weekend pic.twitter.com/URzH6zOUdn
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 1, 2026
Anyone who knows Tesla knows the company loves to troll its fans and have fun, and this is a perfect example of that. While not a direct acknowledgement, Tesla is very involved on social media, especially CEO Elon Musk’s platform X, and the company is well aware of what is being discussed within the community.
With recent sightings of Model Y L test mules in California, peeks of the vehicle at Giga Texas, and a large call for the car to come to the U.S., Tesla is simply stoking conversation with this.
However, the company also made another move that was recognized on social media. Tesla has a large gallery that includes photos of its products so media and others can use them. This gallery applies to the U.S. market specifically, unless otherwise specified.
Tesla uploaded a Model Y L to the Gallery last night:
This looks like a Model Y L https://t.co/TpnBwrLmH9
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 2, 2026
This seems to be another indication that the Model Y L is coming to the United States.
Musk said last year that the Model Y L could make its way to the United States late this year, but it was not something that was set in stone by Tesla. The company definitely needs to establish something in the SUV market that is larger than the Model Y, and the Model Y L might be the answer.
Even still, there are consumers out there who would love Tesla to develop something even larger, like a competitor to the Tahoe or Expedition. Tesla has not really given much of an indication that it will go in that direction.
Tesla is using the vehicles’ internal microphones to improve build quality, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy revealed recently.
It’s no secret that Tesla is always finding ways to make its manufacturing operations more efficient, accurate, and valuable. Constantly trying to make its cars better, the company has never placed any restrictions on what it will do to improve everything from panel gaps to paint.
As Teslas have been driving autonomously on the property of the Gigafactory Texas plant for a while now, Moravy revealed to Herbert Ong in a new interview that cars rolling off production lines now autonomously navigate themselves through a bumps, squeaks, and rattles (BSR) portion of the line. This helps to identify any loose or improperly installed internal parts.
The cabin’s microphones, which are used for a variety of things in ownership, simultaneously monitor any noises inside the vehicle while it rolls through the BSR portion of the production line. Moravy actually revealed that Tesla is trying to build “Full Self-Hearing,” an AI system that will detect minor imperfections so they can be corrected before delivery.
It’s no secret that build quality is something that Tesla struggled with as it scaled to a fully massive production operation that manufactures over 1.6 million vehicles per year. However, in recent years, especially, there have not been as many complaints. Tesla has truly improved upon its build quality and paint quality over the past several years, especially in the U.S.
Tesla’s ‘megacasts’ are key to massive build quality improvements
While those improvements have been evident, there are still some complaints; no automaker is perfect with this. But this step will now ensure that every single car that rolls off the production lines at Gigafactory Texas will be void of any creaks, squeaks, or squeals when it leaves the factory.
This measure is one of the most unique we’ve seen in terms of a strategy to avoid build quality issues, but it is not exclusive to Tesla.
Ford uses acoustic analysis AI to find abnormalities in seat motors, climate control units, and other components. Suppliers and OEMs will also use microphone arrays or particle velocity sensors in end-of-line stations.
The full interview with Lars Moravy is available below:
🚨 If you’re a Tesla investor, this is one interview you don’t want to skip. The full video posted below.
Jeff Lutz @thejefflutz and I sat down with Tesla VP of Engineering Lars Moravy, and it was packed with insights!
A few of the biggest takeaways:
• Cybercab is expected to… pic.twitter.com/fhYSr2dCqP
— Herbert Ong (@herbertong) July 1, 2026
Tesla brings Model Y L ‘Launch Series’ to the U.S. at $61,990
Tesla just told us twice that Model Y L is coming to the U.S.
