Elon Musk’s Tesla Compensation Trial Turns to Financial Experts in Closing Days

Mr. Musk echoed earlier witnesses in saying Wednesday that he didn’t dictate the terms of the pay plan. “I was entirely focused on the execution of the company,” a soft-spoken Mr. Musk said.

The Tesla CEO appeared in the Delaware Court of Chancery at a turbulent time. He acquired Twitter Inc. for $44 billion last month and also runs rocket company SpaceX. Mr. Musk recently raised the possibility of bankruptcy for Twitter, has laid off around 50% of the social-media platform’s staff and has tried to implement various product changes. 

Mr. Musk said again that he would prefer not to be CEO of any company. “CEO is often viewed as somewhat of a business-focused role, but in reality my role is much more that of an engineer developing technology,” Mr. Musk said. 

During testimony, Mr. Musk said he expected to find someone to run Twitter. He tweeted later Wednesday, “I will continue to run Twitter until it is in a strong place, which will take some time.” Mr. Musk also recently identified a potential successor who could serve as CEO of Tesla, board member

James Murdoch

said Wednesday without identifying the person. 

Mr. Musk, who doesn’t receive a salary from Tesla, has secured all but one of the 12 tranches of options available under his 2018 grant based on Tesla’s having achieved various milestones. Tesla’s market capitalization has increased more than 10-fold since shareholders signed off on the pay package in March 2018, helping it become the world’s most valuable car maker, while making Mr. Musk the world’s wealthiest person.

Much of the trial has focused on the achievability of the performance targets that underpin Mr. Musk’s pay package. Mr. Musk on Wednesday said meeting some of the performance goals was “extremely unlikely.” That view echoed statements made by other board members, including testimony Tuesday by Robyn Denholm, now Tesla’s chair and a board member when the pay deal came together. 

Attorneys for the plaintiff have argued that Tesla’s internal forecasts at the time contemplated the company soon clearing some of the hurdles required for Mr. Musk’s grant to vest.

Former Tesla board member

Brad Buss

is among the witnesses poised to testify before the trial concludes. 

Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the judge in the five-day, nonjury trial, is expected to issue a verdict well after the trial concludes. She also presided over Twitter’s lawsuit seeking to compel Mr. Musk to buy the social-media company. That transaction closed before the case went to trial.

Write to Rebecca Elliott at rebecca.elliott@wsj.com