Wilmington, Delaware - Tesla CEO Elon Musk appeared in court to testify in a lawsuit that claims a $50 billion payday he received was illegitimate.

According to CNN, Tesla is involved in a heated lawsuit filed by plaintiff Richard Tornetta, who claims the compensation package Musk received in 2018 was "unjust enrichment."

The suit also says that the CEO has relationships with members of the board, who are supposed to represent shareholders and act independently of Musk, which may have influenced the amount of the massive payoff.

Musk took the stand for the first time on Wednesday, the third day of the trial, and argued that he was not involved in discussions by the board about the package.

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Attorney Gregory Varallo, who represents the shareholders, highlighted inconsistencies in Musk’s statements by replaying contradictory statements he made during his deposition.

Several board members have defended Musk and the pay package, including board chair Robyn Denholm who explained, "It was around motivating him to achieve things that were bold and audacious and him putting his time and energy into that as opposed to his other interests."

Others have instead described the goals of the package as difficult to achieve, including former Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja, who described it as "extremely high-risk, high-reward."

James Murdoch, board member and media mogul Rupert Murdoch's son, testified that Musk has had conversations in the past few months regarding his future as CEO of the company.

When asked by the plaintiff's attorney if Musk had a successor in mind, Murdoch responded, "He actually has, but it's in between the time where you took [my] deposition and now."

The trial is expected to end by the end of the week with Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, who is overseeing the case, delivering her ruling in the following months.