US judges are considering whether to force Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) boss Elon Musk to return US$13bn of shares he received as part of the acquisition of SolarCity.
The 2016 deal to take over the solar panel company, of which Musk was also chairman and main shareholder, was worth US$2.6bn.
Investors voted to support the deal on 17 November that year but the claim by a group of Tesla shareholders is that Musk coerced the Tesla board into approving a takeover of a struggling SolarCity.
"This case has always been about whether the acquisition of SolarCity was a rescue from financial distress, a bailout orchestrated by Elon Musk," lawyers representing the claimant shareholders said on an online hearing.
The shareholders’ lawyers called on the Delaware court to order Musk return the Tesla stock he received, estimated to be worth close to US$13bn based on the electric car manufacturer’s current stock price.
Back in 2016 Musk had noted that there were "quite a few naysayers" about the deal, including big hedge funds.