Musk demands bigger stake in Tesla as price for AI work
Tesla CEO Elon Musk demanded that the company's board give him shares worth more than $80 billion if it wants him to continue developing products based on artificial intelligence.
Mr. Musk said Monday on X, the social media site he owns, that he needed to own 25 percent of Tesla to avoid takeovers and have sufficient control over the company as it develops robots and other artificial intelligence technology.
The CEO owns 13 percent of Tesla after selling a substantial portion of his stake to finance his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, which he renamed X. The social media site has struggled under his leadership and has fallen in value. Another 12 percent of Tesla would be worth $82 billion at the current share price, effectively recouping Musk's investment in Twitter, which he says he regrets.
“I feel uncomfortable growing Tesla into a leader in AI and robotics without having ~25% voting control,” Mr. Musk wrote on X. “Enough to be influential, but not so much that I don't can be overthrown.”
He continued: “Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.” But he also said the board would take no action until a Delaware judge rules on a lawsuit filed by a Tesla shareholder challenging a previous compensation plan that helped make Musk the world's richest person.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Musk's question underscored the extent to which Tesla, which sold 1.8 million vehicles last year and is the world's most valuable automaker, is subject to his impulses.
Tesla's success forced traditional automakers to offer electric vehicles, which are key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. But Mr Musk's behavior and statements have weighed on the stock price and landed him in trouble with regulators.
Tesla shares fell when Musk sold some of his shares to buy Twitter. Shares also suffered after Mr Musk said in 2018 that he had the money to take Tesla private and private. Mr Musk was unable to execute the plan.
The company's shares are down about 14 percent so far this year, but are up about 60 percent in the past twelve months.
Mr Musk did not specify which products he might develop outside the company. He has already started a separate artificial intelligence company called X.AI, which released the Grok chatbot to select users last year. Tesla is developing a robot called Optimus that, according to a video Tesla posted on X on Monday, can fold a shirt. Tesla also uses artificial intelligence in its driver assistance systems and self-driving systems.
On X, some of Mr Musk's fans cheered his statement and said he deserved the money. But others said it was his own fault that his stake in the company has fallen. “They didn't force you to sell your shares,” one user wrote, adding, “Why would the board do anything to rectify this for you?”
A stake of less than 15 percent in the company, Musk said, “makes a takeover by dubious interests too easy.”