Elon Musk seeks greater control of Tesla for AI development
What's the story
Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, wants a 25% voting control in the company before diving into artificial intelligence (AI) projects. Musk currently owns around 13% of Tesla stock. He shared on X, "I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control." He believes that without this control, the company could be vulnerable to takeovers by questionable parties.
Twitter Post
Check out Musk's post
I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 15, 2024
Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla. You don’t seem to understand…
Details
Tesla's AI and robotics projects
Tesla is investing heavily in AI and robotics, including the Optimus robot and the Dojo supercomputer. The company is pouring over $1 billion into Dojo, which will help train machine-learning models for Tesla's self-driving systems. Analysts predict this project could boost Tesla's value by $500 billion. During Tesla's first-ever AI Day in 2021, Musk claimed that the company is "arguably the leader in real-world AI."
What Next?
Challenges and shareholder dissatisfaction
Tesla also faces hurdles in creating a dual-class voting structure to meet Musk's desired control level as it is "impossible to achieve post-IPO in Delaware." The company is also awaiting a decision in a shareholder lawsuit regarding a previous $55 billion compensation package. Meanwhile, Tesla's shares have dropped 12% this year, wiping out over $94 billion in market value. Shareholders are concerned about succession planning and believe Musk may be too preoccupied with his work on X.
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