A US trial over Elon Musk's disputed $59 billion pay at Tesla began on Monday, with the world's richest person expected to take the stand this week.
A Tesla shareholder alleges Mr Musk unfairly dictated the terms of his compensation package and set easily reached performance targets.
They claimed that investors were duped into approving it. Under the deal, Mr Musk did not even have to work at Tesla full-time.
The pay packet is six times larger than the top 200 CEO salaries combined in 2021, said Amit Batish of research firm Equilar.
Mr Musk is expected to testify on Wednesday for the trial taking place in Wilmington, Delaware.
The trial began with Ira Ehrenpreis, a Tesla board member since 2007 and chair of the committee that oversaw the pay package, describing the process to develop the record-breaking deal.
"I wanted to make sure that Elon remained as the leader of Tesla over a longer period of time," Mr Ehrenpreis testified.
The lawsuit states his pay package should have required Mr Musk to work full-time at Tesla.
Shareholders are worried he is becoming increasingly distracted by his newly acquired Twitter.
Referring to the many pressures Mr Musk is under as he leads Tesla, Twitter, SpaceX and other businesses, he said on Monday that he "has too much work" on his plate.
A decision will probably take about three months after the trial, and an appeal against the verdict could be lodged at the Delaware Supreme Court.
Agencies contributed to this report
Celebrities who've quit Twitter following Elon Musk takeover - in pictures
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Gigi Hadid has deactivated her Twitter account following Elon Musk's takeover of the platform, saying 'it's becoming more and more of a cesspool of hate and bigotry with the new leadership'. AFP -
Whoopi Goldberg said she was getting off Twitter because 'it’s so messy'. AP -
Producer Shonda Rhimes quit the platform days after Elon Musk took over. Reuters -
Actor and filmmaker Alex Winter's account has also been deactivated. AFP -
Grammy-winning singer Sara Bareilles said Twitter was no longer for her. AP -
Actor Amber Heard, who once dated Elon Musk, has also deactivated her account. AP -
Singer Toni Braxton, who has also quit, said she was not comfortable with 'hate speech under the veil of free speech'. Alamy Stock Photo -
Comedian Kathy Griffin's Twitter account was suspended after she changed her name to 'Elon Musk'. GC Images -
'Avengers' star Mark Ruffalo has pleaded with Elon Musk to 'get off Twitter and get on with running Tesla and SpaceX'. AP
