Elon Musk 'Hates' Being Head of Tesla, Prefers Designing Tesla's CEO appeared at a Delaware court hearing to defend his company's acquisition of SolarCity.
By Euni Han Edited by Emily Rella
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Elon Musk told a court in Wilmington, Delaware that he didn't behave inappropriately during discussions for SolarCity and that he reluctantly became CEO of Tesla, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"I rather hate it, and I would much prefer to spend my time on design and engineering, which is what intrinsically I like doing," Musk reportedly testified.
Musk went on to say that he assumed the role because he was afraid the electric vehicle maker would otherwise "die."
Related: Elon Musk To Testify Over Tesla's SolarCity Acquisition
The billionaire entrepreneur was in Delaware on Monday defending his decision to acquire SolarCity in 2016. Company shareholders sued Musk in 2017 for encouraging Tesla to pay a premium for the solar equipment manufacturer, which was founded and run by his cousins, Lydon and Peter Rive.
Musk was the chairman of SolarCity during the time and owned a 22% stake in the company. Since then, a $60 million payout to Tesla shareholders has followed, with no admission of fault.
Musk remains the only Tesla leader that hasn't settled the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs are reportedly seeking between $2.2 billion and $2.6 billion from Musk, reports Insider. The trial is expected to run approximately two weeks until July 23rd.
