Entrepreneur with a big vision, Elon Musk is the founder of SpaceX, as well as the co-founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors.

Steve Jobs, Howard Hughes, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates have all been compared to him because of his phenomenal success.

And now, during questioning at a trial over SolarCity's acquisition, the Tesla CEO&nbsp;revealed that he turned down multiple high-paying Wall Street jobs to focus on technology.

Musk, who studied at the University of Pennsylvania before moving to Silicon Valley, did not reveal the names of the companies that approached him.

Tesla is accused of purchasing SolarCity for $2.6 billion in 2016 as a "bailout" for the company.

Paypal, formerly X.com, was the source of Musk's fortune.

Paypal was founded in 1999 and was later purchased by eBay for $1.5 billion, with $165 million in stock being paid to Musk.

Musk established Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, in 2002.

Musk believed that humanity's survival based on its potential to evolve into a multi-planetary species, but that present rocket launch technologies were prohibitively expensive.

With the launch of the Falcon 1 in 2006, the Falcon 9 in 2010, and the Falcon Heavy in 2018, he was able to do this.

(With inputs from agencies)

Entrepreneur with a big vision, Elon Musk is the founder of SpaceX, as well as the co-founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors. Steve Jobs, Howard Hughes, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates have all been compared to him because of his phenomenal success.

Entrepreneur with a big vision, Elon Musk is the founder of SpaceX, as well as the co-founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors. Steve Jobs, Howard Hughes, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates have all been compared to him because of his phenomenal success. And now, during questioning at a trial over SolarCity's acquisition, the Tesla CEO revealed that he turned down multiple high-paying Wall Street jobs to focus on technology. Musk, who studied at the University of Pennsylvania before moving to Silicon Valley, did not reveal the names of the companies that approached him. Tesla is accused of purchasing SolarCity for $2.6 billion in 2016 as a "bailout" for the company. Paypal, formerly X.com, was the source of Musk's fortune. Paypal was founded in 1999 and was later purchased by eBay for $1.5 billion, with $165 million in stock being paid to Musk. Musk established Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, in 2002. Musk believed that humanity's survival based on its potential to evolve into a multi-planetary species, but that present rocket launch technologies were prohibitively expensive. With the launch of the Falcon 1 in 2006, the Falcon 9 in 2010, and the Falcon Heavy in 2018, he was able to do this. (With inputs from agencies)

I turned down high-paid jobs on Wall Street to focus on technology: Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been accused by shareholders of his company of misusing his power to rescue his own investment in&nbsp;SolarCity.

They are questioning&nbsp;whether Elon&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;controls Tesla Inc or does Tesla control Elon&nbsp;Musk?&nbsp;More than $2 billion hinges on that question as a trial kicks off on Monday.

SolarCity, a&nbsp;solar panel-making company, was on the verge of&nbsp;bankruptcy before Musk rescued it.

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Musk&nbsp;has defended himself by saying&nbsp;that the SolarCity deal has been a huge success for Tesla shareholders, demonstrating the deal was not only fair, but a boon.

The union pension funds and asset managers leading the case want&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;to repay to Tesla the cost of the $2.6 billion deal and to disgorge the profits on his SolarCity stock. If they win, it would be one of the largest judgments against an individual.

The two-week trial in the Court of Chancery in Wilmington, Delaware, will boil down to whether&nbsp;Musk, who owned about 22 per cent&nbsp;of Tesla at the time of the deal, is that rare controlling stockholder who does not hold a majority stake.

"I think it's going to be very hard for the court to ignore the reality that Elon&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;is Elon&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;and his relationship with Tesla," said Ann Lipton, a professor at Tulane University Law School.

She said the case might present an unusual situation given&nbsp;Musk's celebrity status, his personal ties to Tesla board members and those board members' financial ties to SolarCity.

"Put it all together, and it might be enough to count as a controlling shareholder," she said.

Also see|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/who-is-winning-space-tourism-race-between-bezos-branson-and-musk-396420" hreflang="en">Who is winning space tourism race between Bezos, Branson and Musk?</a>

Few executives dominate their company's image as much&nbsp;Musk, known for taunting regulators, battling naysayers and personally engaging with his 57 million Twitter followers.

"We are highly dependent on the services of Elon&nbsp;Musk, Technoking of Tesla, and our Chief Executive Officer," said Tesla's 2020 annual report.

Plaintiffs allege that&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;drove the negotiations and even pushed Tesla's board to raise, not lower, the price for SolarCity.

A higher price benefited&nbsp;Musk, who was the largest shareholder of SolarCity, with a stake of about 22 per cent, as well as four members of Tesla's board, who directly or indirectly owned SolarCity stock, according to court records.

Board members settled allegations against them last year for $60 million and did not admit to any fault.

Plaintiffs also allege the deal benefited two of&nbsp;Musk's cousins who founded SolarCity, saving a company that was rapidly running low on cash.

Musk&nbsp;has said he was "fully recused" from board negotiations and that shareholders voted to approve the deal because it was central to his "Master Plan, Part Deux" that aims to integrate sustainable solar energy with electric self-driving cars.

He has said that what plaintiffs see as evidence of control is little more than strong management.

"Taken to its natural conclusion, virtually all 'hands-on' and 'inspirational' CEOs with minority stock ownership would be deemed controllers,"&nbsp;Musk's lawyers wrote in a court filing.

If Vice-Chancellor Joseph Slights determines&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;was a controlling shareholder, it will fall to&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;to prove the SolarCity deal met the high bar of the "entire fairness" standard, which examines process and price, said legal experts.

"If the vice-chancellor thinks this deal was awful and was not effectively negotiated on behalf of the company, he’ll strike it down," said Larry Hamermesh, a professor at Delaware Law School.

(With inputs from agencies)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been accused by shareholders of his company of misusing his power to rescue his own investment in SolarCity. They are questioning whether Elon Musk controls Tesla Inc or does Tesla control Elon Musk?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been accused by shareholders of his company of misusing his power to rescue his own investment in SolarCity. They are questioning whether Elon Musk controls Tesla Inc or does Tesla control Elon Musk? More than $2 billion hinges on that question as a trial kicks off on Monday. SolarCity, a solar panel-making company, was on the verge of bankruptcy before Musk rescued it. Musk has defended himself by saying that the SolarCity deal has been a huge success for Tesla shareholders, demonstrating the deal was not only fair, but a boon. The union pension funds and asset managers leading the case want Musk to repay to Tesla the cost of the $2.6 billion deal and to disgorge the profits on his SolarCity stock. If they win, it would be one of the largest judgments against an individual. The two-week trial in the Court of Chancery in Wilmington, Delaware, will boil down to whether Musk, who owned about 22 per cent of Tesla at the time of the deal, is that rare controlling stockholder who does not hold a majority stake. "I think it's going to be very hard for the court to ignore the reality that Elon Musk is Elon Musk and his relationship with Tesla," said Ann Lipton, a professor at Tulane University Law School. She said the case might present an unusual situation given Musk's celebrity status, his personal ties to Tesla board members and those board members' financial ties to SolarCity. "Put it all together, and it might be enough to count as a controlling shareholder," she said. Also see| Who is winning space tourism race between Bezos, Branson and Musk? Few executives dominate their company's image as much Musk, known for taunting regulators, battling naysayers and personally engaging with his 57 million Twitter followers. "We are highly dependent on the services of Elon Musk, Technoking of Tesla, and our Chief Executive Officer," said Tesla's 2020 annual report. Plaintiffs allege that Musk drove the negotiations and even pushed Tesla's board to raise, not lower, the price for SolarCity. A higher price benefited Musk, who was the largest shareholder of SolarCity, with a stake of about 22 per cent, as well as four members of Tesla's board, who directly or indirectly owned SolarCity stock, according to court records. Board members settled allegations against them last year for $60 million and did not admit to any fault. Plaintiffs also allege the deal benefited two of Musk's cousins who founded SolarCity, saving a company that was rapidly running low on cash. Musk has said he was "fully recused" from board negotiations and that shareholders voted to approve the deal because it was central to his "Master Plan, Part Deux" that aims to integrate sustainable solar energy with electric self-driving cars. He has said that what plaintiffs see as evidence of control is little more than strong management. "Taken to its natural conclusion, virtually all 'hands-on' and 'inspirational' CEOs with minority stock ownership would be deemed controllers," Musk's lawyers wrote in a court filing. If Vice-Chancellor Joseph Slights determines Musk was a controlling shareholder, it will fall to Musk to prove the SolarCity deal met the high bar of the "entire fairness" standard, which examines process and price, said legal experts. "If the vice-chancellor thinks this deal was awful and was not effectively negotiated on behalf of the company, he’ll strike it down," said Larry Hamermesh, a professor at Delaware Law School. (With inputs from agencies)

'Abuse of power': Tesla shareholders accuse CEO Elon Musk of rescuing his investment in SolarCity

Tesla investors are being urged to vote to remove Elon Musk, the electric vehicle company’s founder and chief executive, from the board of the firm. The development comes as anger mounts over his bonus deal that could pay him a record $55.

Tesla investors are being urged to vote to remove Elon Musk, the electric vehicle company’s founder and chief executive, from the board of the firm. The development comes as anger mounts over his bonus deal that could pay him a record $55.8bn (£40bn), according to The Guardian. Pirc, an influential adviser to shareholders, on Tuesday, recommended that investors voted against Tesla’s executive pay deal because it “unfairly enriches the chief executive”, the report added. Pirc said the deal had exposed the company to a lawsuit, alleging that: “The board, including CEO Elon Musk, awarded themselves excessive compensation packages over a three-year period that allegedly allowed directors to ‘enrich themselves at the company’s expense’.” He called on investors to vote against re-electing Musk to the board because of the pay deal, and warned he posed “a serious risk of reputational harm to the company and its shareholders”. Pirc said Musk’s frequent controversial outbursts on Twitter had cost Tesla millions of dollars in settlements and also represented an “unnecessary reputational risk to the company”. Last year Musk was sued for $190m in defamation damages over derogatory tweets about the British caver Vernon Unsworth, who was helping to rescue 13 people trapped in a Thai cave. A jury found the tweets did not reach the legal standard for defamation, and Musk was not found liable for damages. In 2018 the US Securities and Exchange (SEC) regulator fined both Musk and Tesla $20m over the chief executive’s tweets that he planned to take the company private at a substantial premium to the share price, causing the stock price to surge. As part of the settlement with the SEC Musk was forced to give up his position as Tesla’s chairman. The SEC ruled: “In truth, Musk knew that the potential transaction was uncertain and subject to numerous contingencies. Musk had not discussed specific deal terms, including price, with any potential financing partners, and his statements about the possible transaction lacked an adequate basis in fact.”

Tesla shareholders urged to oust Elon Musk over $55bn bonus deal

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I turned down high-paid jobs on Wall Street to focus on technology: Elon Musk

'Abuse of power': Tesla shareholders accuse CEO Elon Musk of rescuing his investment in SolarCity

Tesla shareholders urged to oust Elon Musk over $55bn bonus deal