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…
From CNN
Elon Musk says he wants a significantly larger stake in Tesla than the one that already made him the richest person on the planet.
In a series of posts on X Monday night, Musk said that he would not want to grow Tesla to become a leader in artificial intelligence and robotics without a compensation plan that would give him ownership of around 25% of the company’s stock. That would be about double the roughly 13% stake he currently owns.
“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,” Musk wrote in a post on X. “Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.”
Notably, Musk held a stake of more than 20% in Tesla before he sold a large number of shares to buy X, the social media company he purchased over a year ago for $44 billion.
Here's a handy explainer from the always reliable Common Sense Skeptic.
I think it is critical that we recognize that this is just transferring a huge amount of wealth to Elon Musk with no guarantees of success. It is not an argument for performance based stock options that would vest if he succeed with AI and robotics start-ups.
ReplyDeleteThat struck me too. In investment terms, it's asking Tesla shareholders to turn over $60 billion or more worth of capital to Musk, in return for which Tesla owns the fruits of Musk's AI innovation. Even if you believe Elon Musk, Certified Genius, will dominate AI technology and you want a part of the action, it would be much cheaper to capitalize a new startup. It just makes no sense that any investor would agree to these terms.
DeleteBut does that mean no one will agree? Obviously this is playing on both Musk's reputation as and his willingness to blur the boundaries between his own business ventures and Tesla's.