Elon Musk calls for Delaware judge to recuse in cases alleging bias

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2026.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Elon Musk’s legal team is demanding that a judge in the Delaware Court of Chancery, Kathaleen McCormick, recuse herself from two Tesla lawsuits, alleging she showed bias in supporting a LinkedIn post that was critical of Musk.

“In light of the Court’s recent public support of LinkedIn posts that create a perception of bias against Mr. Musk in these cases, recusal is necessary and warranted,” Musk’s attorney’s wrote in their motion for recusal on Wednesday. “These cases should be re-assigned to another random-drawn judicial officer of this Court.”

The post that McCormick allegedly responded to with an emoji had touted a verdict from a San Francisco federal court that could cost Musk upwards of $2 billion. In that case, a jury found Musk had defrauded Twitter investors in the lead up to his buyout of the social network.

McCormick sent a letter to Musk’s attorneys saying she did not read the full text of the LinkedIn post referenced, did not support it, or intend to click any emoji expressing support of the post, and would have only accidentally clicked that indicator. She also said in the letter that she had reported “suspicious activity” on her account to LinkedIn.

Quinn Emanuel partner Alex Spiro, an attorney for Musk, told CNBC in an email that he’s inquired with LinkedIn on the matter, and said “I don’t believe there’s any basis for the claim it was a ‘glitch.'”

LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

McCormick became the target of Musk’s ire after she ordered Tesla to rescind his 2018 CEO pay package, worth about $56 billion in options, when she presided over the shareholder suit Tornetta v. Musk.

Musk moved his businesses, including Tesla, out of Delaware, incorporating them in Texas and Nevada and encouraging others to do the same.

In 2025, Delaware’s Supreme Court said Musk’s 2018 pay package must be restored, deciding that the lower court’s decision by McCormick was too extreme a remedy and did not give Tesla a chance to say what a fair compensation for Musk ought to be.

Tesla and Musk still have two cases proceeding through Delaware courts before McCormick. One concerns Tesla directors’ compensation, and the other is a consolidated shareholder suit filed by investors alleging that Musk breached his fiduciary duties to Tesla when he started a potential competitor in artificial intelligence, xAI,

Earlier this year, Tesla invested $2 billion into xAI. Musk’s aerospace and defense company, SpaceX, then acquired xAI, converting Tesla’s stock into SpaceX holdings.

WATCH: Elon Musk teases pair of giant chip factories

Elon Musk teases pair of giant chip factories in Texas
Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
Visited 3 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

Nvidia’s trillion-dollar run puts pressure on the bulls

BEIJING, CHINA – MAY 14: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (C) gestures as he prepares to depart following a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China. President Trump is meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing to address the Iran conflict, trade imbalances, and the Taiwan situation

Permutations in Europe: What’s still at stake in final weeks of season?

There’s still plenty to play for across Europe as we head into the final matches of the club season. Here are all the title races, Champions League fights, and relegation battles left to be decided in the top leagues this month. This story will be updated until the end of the campaign. 👉 Jump to:EPL

Brewing a Better Half-Gallon Batch

Today I finally ran an experiment I’ve wanted to try for a long time. If you’re a professional barista—or you run a busy café—this may save you some time. Most coffee shops use 1–1.5 gallon batch brewers (Bunn, Curtis, Fetco, etc.). When I opened Short Sleeves Coffee, I intentionally avoided brewing full 1-gallon batches. I

5 Frozen Breakfasts Chefs Say Keep You Full All Morning

Chef-approved frozen breakfasts with more protein and better ingredients. Eating a healthy breakfast every morning is a great way to start the day, but most people don’t have time to cook. Whether you’re rushing out the door in the morning for work, taking the kids to school or both, there’s usually not much time in

CA scales back plan to ban student use of cell phones

By Carolyn Jones, CalMatters This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Until last month, California was poised to join nearly a dozen other states that ban cell phones in K-12 schools. But under pressure from school boards and administrators, lawmakers scaled back a bill that would have required such a

BulkQuant Launches AI Trading Bot for Crypto, Forex, and Stock Markets

BulkQuant Launches AI Trading Bot for Crypto, Forex, and Stock Markets

London, United Kingdom, May 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BulkQuant has officially launched its AI trading bot platform designed for crypto, forex, and stock market traders seeking a simpler way to automate trading strategies across multiple financial markets. The platform combines AI-powered quantitative analysis, automated trade execution, portfolio monitoring, and adaptive risk management into a

IMF lauds resilient Hong Kong economy but warns of risks linked to Middle East war

IMF lauds resilient Hong Kong economy but warns of risks linked to Middle East war

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lauded the resilience of Hong Kong’s economy, noting a sustained recovery despite economic activity having yet to return to pre-Covid levels, while warning of downside risks stemming from escalating geopolitical tensions. It also urged Hong Kong to pursue medium-term financial reforms, including the introduction of a goods and services

Smithsonian Presidents Exhibit Reopens With Low-Key Trump Impeachment Mention

For the past year, the Smithsonian Institution has found itself in the awkward position of telling the nation’s story while being supported in part by a government that wants to narrow how that story is told. In December, the White House threatened to revoke funding to the institution if it did not hand over a

Marvel’s Daredevil Follow-up Is Already Dominating on Streaming

A follow-up to Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 on Disney+ has become a massive streaming success within days of its launch. The Punisher: One Last Kill has quickly climbed to the top of multiple charts, beating out other titles on the platform. The MCU television special follows the gun-toting vigilante, who finds himself targeted by

Is Now a Bad Time to Invest?

The market has been on a roll lately, with the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) setting new highs throughout May. If you think you missed your opportunity when the market bottomed in late March, don’t fret. The market hitting new all-time highs is not particularly rare and should not change your investment strategy. And if you

6 bids for Hong Kong land sale signal renewed confidence despite market caution

6 bids for Hong Kong land sale signal renewed confidence despite market caution

The Hong Kong government’s first land sale in the current financial year has drawn six bids, according to the Development Bureau, including those from the city’s largest developers, suggesting a more confident outlook for the residential property market. At the close of tender for Tung Chung Town Lot No 54 at Area 106A on Friday

Each Premier League team reranked: Man City rise; Chelsea, Liverpool collapse

Ryan O’Hanlon Close Ryan O’Hanlon ESPN.com writer Ryan O’Hanlon is a staff writer for ESPN.com. He’s also the author of “Net Gains: Inside the Beautiful Game’s Analytics Revolution.”  and  Bill Connelly Close Bill Connelly ESPN Staff Writer Bill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at

Trump departs China after two-day summit

Trump departs China after two-day summit

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Trump Wraps China Summit With Xi Jinping: What Are the Results? 05:41 Xi gives Trump rare tour of secret garden at heart of Chinese government 01:04 Now Playing Trump departs China after two-day summit 01:01 UP NEXT Special Report: Trump

Carol Chow was facing a bankruptcy petition by five people over unspecified debts at the time of her death. Photo: Dickson Lee

Embattled Hong Kong developer sued for HK$130 million, days after founder’s death

A Hong Kong property developer has been sued for HK$130 million (US$16.6 million) over allegedly breaching guarantor obligations in two bond subscription agreements, becoming the latest lawsuit to implicate the embattled company and following its founder’s sudden death earlier this week. Lofter Group, known for its urban renewal projects across the city’s core districts, and

Trump’s China visit left chip export issue unresolved

This report is from this week’s The Tech Download newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here. One look at the roster of U.S. execs that cozied up to U.S. President Donald Trump on the 20+ hours flight from Alaska to China on Wednesday and you get a sense of the American delegation’s key focus

Why the Cerebras IPO matters for the AI race with China

Why the Cerebras IPO matters for the AI race with China

Cerebras, an AI chipmaker, saw its shares nearly double on Nasdaq, closing up 70% with a $95B market cap. Cerebras’s powerful chips are key in the US-China AI tech race. Chris Buskirk, co-founder and chief investment officer of 1789 Capital, a key Cerebras investor, says the company’s IPO is geopolitically significant. On Thursday, shares of

Fitbit Air vs Whoop Strap Comparison: Price, Features and AI

The Google Fitbit Air is very much the talk of the fitness tracking town right now, not only because it’s the first new Fitbit device that we’ve had in years, but it’s also one of the first big brands to go head-to-head with the established Whoop Strap (if you don’t count the Polar Loop and

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