On August 3rd Tesla’s board handed Mr Musk an insurance policy. If his old package is not revived, he can cash in new options worth $24bn. That’s much less than his original award but still the largest pay cheque in history,

The company described the "interim award" as "good faith" payment to honor Musk's more than $50 billion pay package from 2018 that was struck down by a Delaware court last year.