Elon Musk billionaire bill fans draw progressive challengers in Delaware

An Elon Musk sign sits in a bush the federal courthouse during proceedings in the trial over Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI in Oakland, California, on April 30, 2026.

Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Images

A progressive wing of the Democratic Party in Delaware is endorsing primary opponents to six incumbent Democratic state lawmakers who pushed for a change to the state’s corporate law that benefits executives and billionaires, including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, who have faced shareholder litigation in the state.

The Delaware Working Families Party told CNBC exclusively that it is endorsing six Democratic candidates in primaries against fellow Democratic incumbents who supported SB 21. The measure became law in 2025 and was dubbed the “billionaires bill” by opponents. The law altered how companies can use independent directors and other officials to ensure deals they’ve made will pass muster in court, and it limited the records shareholders can obtain from companies when investigating possible wrongdoing.

Before the bill became law, many institutional investors, legal scholars and shareholders’ attorneys opposed it, arguing it would harm minority shareholders and allow boards and executives to make decisions based on their own interests rather than for the broader investor base.

Musk, whose record $56 billion pay package was in legal limbo in Delaware, relocated Tesla’s incorporation out of state during the spat. Many other businesses considered similar moves, spooking the state’s lawmakers, as Delaware, despite being a heavily Democratic state, has long been viewed as a haven for business.

The Working Families Party, prominent in New York politics and expanding in other states, said the endorsements are part of its effort to move Delaware “more in the direction of working class people.”

“We want to make sure that people know the effects that this bill has had and is going to have on hurting accountability for corporations and basically handing Elon Musk $55 billion when he was in the process … of gutting federal agencies that are saving millions of lives overseas and also laying off a bunch of Delawareans here at home,” Karl Stromberg, Delaware state director for the Working Families Party, told CNBC.

Read more CNBC politics coverage

Musk last year was leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a White House effort to slash spending that upended numerous government agencies and laid off troves of federal workers.

A Delaware corporate firm that has represented Musk had a hand in drafting the bill, as CNBC previously reported.

Specifically, the WFP is endorsing four candidates for the state House of Representatives and two candidates for the state Senate. All are running in primaries against incumbent Democrats.

It’s endorsing Shané Darby, who is taking on Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha; Rae Krantz, who is running against Rep. Debra Heffernan; Pamela Salaam who is running against Rep. Frank Cooke; Will Imbrie-Moore over Rep. Kim Williams; Adriana Bohm over Sen. Dan Cruce, and Shay Frisby in her race against Sen. Ray Seigfried.

Musk’s pay package was eventually restored by the Delaware Supreme Court. The state supreme court’s decision, however, did not hinge on SB21.

Delaware Democrats who supported the corporate law rewrite, including Gov. Matt Meyer, contended they did not change the law to pay Musk.

“The law changed, because when I came in as governor, we had to make sure that our jurisprudence, that our corporate law … remained predictable, clear and fair,” Meyer said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last year.

Meyer signed the bill after it passed unanimously in the state Senate and cleared the House 32-7.

Delaware’s billionaire-friendly approach is different from what California voters may consider on the ballot in November. California’s Billionaire Tax Act would impose a one-time tax of 5% on the total wealth of California tax residents whose net worth is $1 billion or more. Unlike Delaware, which addressed corporate domicile, California’s proposal would address personal residency.

— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this article.

Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

US MARKETS CALL: Below The Calm Deep Blue Sea

The major stock market indexes have gone nowhere since early August. On the surface, the seas have been calm. Underneath, plenty of turbulence has been occurring. Most of the volatility has been within sectors. In mid-September, we warned our readers to proceed with caution through the midterm elections. We expected and are now seeing buying

At ₩8,130, Is It Time To Put Telechips Inc. (KOSDAQ:054450) On Your Watch List?

Telechips Inc. (KOSDAQ:054450), might not be a large cap stock, but it saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the KOSDAQ. Shareholders may appreciate the recent price jump, but the company still has a way to go before reaching its yearly highs again. Less-covered, small caps

Container ships are seen through haze in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP) (AP Photo/Amirhosein Khorgooi)

Three tankers caught fire in Strait of Hormuz after hitting naval mines: Iran’s navy

Iran’s navy said three oil tankers caught fire on Saturday after hitting naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported. Container ships are seen through haze in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP) (AP Photo/Amirhosein Khorgooi) One tanker hit a naval mine

Is CoreWeave Stock a Buy After Its Latest Earnings?

CoreWeave (CRWV -6.13%) just delivered another impressive quarter. Revenue surged 168% year over year to $3.7 billion, its customer backlog reached $132.5 billion, and management raised its full-year guidance. Yet the company still reported a net loss of $709 million. For investors, this creates an interesting dilemma. CoreWeave is becoming an increasingly important player in

What Citi Expects From Alibaba (BABA) Before November 19

We just published a list of the 10 Stocks With Insane Upside According to Reddit and Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) ranked 8th on this list. US stocks edged lower Thursday, snapping a rebound that had lifted the S&P 500 1.3% a day earlier. The S&P 500 fell 0.35% to 7,592.40, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped

Latest and Breaking News on NDTV

With ‘God Save The King’, Lalit Modi Announces He Is A British Citizen

London: Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi announced on Saturday that he had officially acquired British citizenship on September 15, 2026, describing it as a deeply personal and proud milestone in his life. Sharing the news while addressing the prestigious Oxford Union on November 14, Modi revealed that he celebrated the occasion in the

Anthropic IPO to test Wall Street’s faith in AI as skepticism mounts

There were no rockets decking Wall Street bank lobbies this past week, unlike the spectacle surrounding SpaceX’s blockbuster June listing. Instead, bankers marketing Anthropic’s (ANTH.PVT) potentially record-breaking initial public offering this week faced an unusually turbulent backdrop as Treasury yields surged and a widespread Microsoft Outlook outage hampered communications, all during — the biggest disruption

Jim Cramer has a strong take on Nvidia’s next chapter

For the first time in 33 years, Nvidia is being run by someone other than Jensen Huang, and some of the loudest voices in the market are already lining up behind the person filling his seat. Jim Cramer, Ross Gerber, Daniel Newman, and Kevin O’Leary have all voiced support for interim CEO Colette Kress as

Portuguese housing protesters keep up the pressure with more marches

Portuguese housing protesters keep up the pressure with more marches

Thousands marched through Lisbon and dozens of other cities and towns in Portugal on Saturday to protest at the rising cost of housing, in bid to keep up pressure on the government. Portuguese housing protesters keep up the pressure with more marches The demonstrations began last month as anger over years of rising costs and

Billionaire Bill Ackman Says There’s a Huge Disconnect in Wall Street’s Expectations for Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet

The stock market hasn’t been as keen on the hyperscalers in 2026 as it was in years past. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) have delivered better returns than the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) year to date thanks to strong relative performances over the past month or so. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) haven’t fared

Sharif said ensuring the safety of workers, assets and supply routes remained the government’s responsibility. (File Photo/AP)

Shehbaz Sharif says Pakistan can become world’s 6th-largest economy by 2050, revises Goldman Sachs forecast

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said he expects the country to become the world’s sixth-largest economy before 2050, revising the timeline projected in an earlier Goldman Sachs assessment. Sharif said ensuring the safety of workers, assets and supply routes remained the government’s responsibility. (File Photo/AP) Addressing the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2026 in Islamabad

Warren Buffett Issued His Starkest Warning About the Stock Market in Years. Here’s What History Says Comes Next.

There’s been no shortage of market volatility over the last week. After experiencing their worst week of 2026 in early November, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC), Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES:^DJI) are rallying once again. However, that doesn’t mean that investors are in the clear. The tech industry is still struggling with

Dalal Street Week Ahead: Can Nifty bulls overcome key resistance levels?

The Indian equity markets spent the week consolidating their recent gains and ended on a positive note. Following a remarkable rally of over 1,900 points in the preceding week, the Nifty did not witness any meaningful retracement and instead moved within a relatively defined range. The Index oscillated in a 585-point range, and despite some

The Ukrainian president described discussions about a new European security framework before the end of the war as dangerous. (Reuters )

Zelensky says Ukraine’s neutrality won’t be enshrined in Constitution amid push from Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ruled out amending the country’s Constitution to establish a neutral status, arguing that such a move would fail to provide Ukraine with lasting security guarantees. The Ukrainian president described discussions about a new European security framework before the end of the war as dangerous. (Reuters ) Zelenskyy told Interfax on

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x