Elon Musk will seek to prove that he is deserving of a multibillion-dollar pay package from Tesla, as a court case brought by shareholders who accuse the electric carmaker of having enriched its co-founder and chief executive at their expense got under way in Delaware.

The world’s wealthiest man is set to testify this week in a trial that began on Monday, in which he, Tesla and members of its board are alleged to have breached their duties by awarding Musk share options worth a maximum of almost $56bn.

The proceedings come just weeks after the 51-year-old took control of Twitter, adding the social media company to an ever-expanding list of businesses of which he is at least nominally in charge, including Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company.