Delaware Governor Says Things May 'need To Change' As Companies Threaten To Leave The State

Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer was sworn in last month.

Kyle Grantham via Delaware's Office of the Governor.

• Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer says things may 'need to change' as companies threaten to incorporate elsewhere.
• Elon Musk has led the charge to leave Delaware after a court rejected his Tesla pay package.
• Delaware remains a top destination to incorporate, especially among Fortune 500 companies.

Some corporations — led in part by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — are threatening to abandon Delaware and incorporate elsewhere.

Delaware's newly-inaugurated Gov. Matt Meyer, however, says he intends to lure them back.

"The fact is Delaware is the best location in the world for a company to incorporate, and that's thanks to our legal expertise dating back to 1792. But let's be clear: If any entity leaves Delaware, we're going to work to win them back," Meyer told Business Insider.

Nearly 2.2 million entities — "more than ever," Meyer said — are registered in Delaware, including two-thirds of all Fortune 500 companies, according to the state's Division of Corporations.

Meyer said it remains a "competitive environment," though, and that his state needed to take challenges to its corporate laws seriously.

"Any company thinking about leaving, we're actively reaching out, we're talking to them, we're understanding what the issues are and understanding what ways we can do better," he said. "And for those entities that have already made the decision to leave, we're going to continue to work hard to earn their trust and hopefully to have them come back."

Musk called on corporations to re-incorporate elsewhere after a Delaware court rejected his $55 billion Tesla pay package. Both Tesla and SpaceX left Delaware last year, reincorporating in Texas.

Bill Ackman, the billionaire CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, said in an X post on Saturday that he planned to move his management company out of Delaware to reincorporate in Nevada or Texas.

"Any lawyer still recommending incorporation in Delaware at this point should be sued for malpractice," Musk posted on X in reference to Ackman's statement. "Texas or Nevada actually respect shareholder rights."

Meyer said that issues like the balance of shareholder and management rights need to be addressed.

"It's really important we get it right for Elon Musk or whoever the litigants are in Delaware courts," he said. "We're cognizant that there may be some things that need to change. We're going to work on them."

Though he's been in office for less than two weeks, Meyer said he has already met with "leading corporate legal brass" and state government leaders to chart a path forward.

"I think within the coming weeks you're going to see some things rolled out that will help move our state forward and bring us into 2025 and beyond to make sure we're protecting and growing the corporate franchise," he said.

"It certainly beats going to Vegas and rolling the dice," he added.