Zilincik

BACKGROUND

Tesla was founded in 2003, by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, with the idea of “changing the world” by creating a classy and desirable all- electric car, and the following year, in April 2004, Elon Musk joined the company as the chairman of the company’s board of directors (and later became its CEO). The former employees who brought this litigation worked there several years later, during the roughly four-year period from April 2007

2 to March 2011. During this period, Tesla’s workforce grew from hundreds to literally thousands of employees.1 A. The Offer Letters All 47 plaintiffs received Tesla’s standard offer letter, identical in material respects. In relevant part, it stated: “Subject to the approval of Tesla’s Board of directors, you will be granted a stock option to purchase an aggregate of [a specified number of] shares of Tesla’s Common Stock pursuant to Tesla’s Equity Incentive Plan then in effect.[2] Your stock options will vest commencing upon your first day of employment (1/4th of the shares vest one year after the Vesting Commencement Date and 1/48th of the shares vest monthly thereafter over the next three years). . . . [¶] . . . You further…