Trial Asks the $2 Billion Question: Does Musk Control Tesla? Does Elon Musk control Tesla Inc. or does Tesla control Elon Musk? More than $2 billion hinges on that question as a trial kicks off on Monday. Shareholders allege that Musk used his control of Tesla to force the company in 2016 to rescue SolarCity, saving the solar panel maker — and Musk’s investment in the company —from bankruptcy. The union pension funds and asset managers leading the case want Musk to repay to Tesla the cost of the $2.6 billion deal and to disgorge the profits on his SolarCity stock. If they win, it would be one of the largest judgments against an individual.