Already in January, Judge Kathaleen McCormick stopped the compensation, which applies to the year 2018, on the grounds that it was far too high.
This after shareholders sued the company and its board, which had approved Musk’s compensation plan – the largest in US history.
But at the June meeting in Texas, shareholders approved the payout.
Now, however, the judge continues to press the brakes on the grounds that the compensation was far too much under Musk’s influence when its decision was made.
“Although a shareholder vote could have a ratifying effect, it cannot have this effect,” she wrote in her opinion on Monday.
Musk can move forward in the process and appeal McCormick’s decision to a higher state court.