“Without Elon Musk, Tesla would have died long ago,” the lawyer responded to the demand of Tesla shareholders to return $ 13 billion for the purchase of SolarCity

Elon Musk’s lawyer said during a court hearing that without such an effective leader, Tesla would no longer exist.

“Without Elon Musk, Tesla would have died long ago and would not have had the chance to reach the $1 trillion market value it does today. This does not mean that Musk is in control. He’s just a very effective CEO,” he said.

Recall that Tesla shareholders sued Elon Musk last year, saying that he pressured the board of directors to facilitate the 2016 deal with the acquisition of SolarCity. Now shareholders expect to receive $13 billion, although last year it was a much smaller amount ($2.6 billion).

Musk explained that the deal was part of a long-term plan to create a vertically integrated company. His lawyers also explained that the deal was not intended to save SolarCity, which at the time was far from bankruptcy and in a financial position similar to that of many high-growth technology companies.

Tesla shares have risen strongly since the acquisition was completed. Now the plaintiffs want the court to order Musk to return the Tesla shares he received as a result of the deal. That’s $13 billion at the current exchange rate.

Musk told the court that such a large settlement is at least five times the amount of the deal, and that the money would be a “windfall” for the plaintiff if the court forced him to pay it. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argue that Musk should not have received the relevant shares at all.

As we already reported, Elon Musk called the UN population projections complete nonsense, and also added that there may not be enough people on Earth to colonize Mars.