The Tesla CEO denied vowing to retaliate against any director who voted against the acquisition and said he had no control over their compensation or board committee assignments. Musk said Tesla’s now-chairwoman Robyn Denholm set the final price and deal terms for the SolarCity buyout.

The question of who controlled the SolarCity purchase is a key part of the trial. Investors and pension funds who are leading the suit allege that Musk and Tesla’s board breached their fiduciary duties when they orchestrated the acquisition of SolarCity,an installer of rooftop solar panels. In June 2016,Musk was the chair and the largest shareholder of both companies when he stunned Wall Street by announcing that Tesla would acquire SolarCity in a deal he later called a “no brainer”.

The plaintiffs are trying to persuade Delaware Chancery Court Judge Joseph Slights III that Musk used his outsize influence and reputation to steamroll Tesla directors into approving the buyout and to manipulate a majority of shareholders to vote for it. Musk is the lone defendant in the case,which has been delayed by the pandemic;the rest of the board settled for $US60 million last year.

The Tesla board kept Musk updated on the basic progress of the deal,but he otherwise recused himself,Musk testified. He scoffed at the idea that he controlled Tesla’s shareholders.

“I don’t think it’s possible to control” big institutional investors like Fidelity and T. Rowe Price,he said.