Tesla investors urge judge to order Musk repay US$13bil for SolarCity deal

The lawsuit by union pension funds and asset managers alleges that Musk (pic) strong-armed the Tesla board into approving the deal for the cash-strapped SolarCity, in which Musk was the top shareholder.

WILMINGTON, Del, : Tesla Inc shareholders urged a judge on Tuesday to find Elon Musk coerced the company's board into a 2016 deal for SolarCity and asked that the chief executive be ordered to pay the electric vehicle company one of the largest judgments ever of US$13 billion.

"This case has always been about whether the acquisition of SolarCity was a rescue from financial distress, a bailout, orchestrated by Elon Musk," Randy Baron, an attorney for shareholders, told the Zoom hearing.