Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that he will seek board approval to invest $5 billion in his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, which could further entangle his network of tech companies.
If this investment is completed, it may reignite questions about conflicts of interest among Musk's network of companies, which also includes spacecraft operator SpaceX and Neuralink, which develops computer-brain interfaces. Tesla is seeking to transform itself from an electric vehicle manufacturer into a robotics and AI company. Musk has promised to build a fleet of autonomous "robotaxis" and humanoid robots driven by this technology.
Musk posted a poll on social media asking whether Tesla should invest $5 billion in xAI. Of the 958,086 votes cast, 68% were in favor of the proposal. The Tesla CEO said he would discuss the proposal with the Tesla board.
Tesla's independence has also been called into question. Earlier this year, the Delaware court overturned Tesla's record $56 billion pay package for Musk, calling the directors "obsequious servants of the overbearing master" and criticizing Chair Robyn Denholm for taking a "lax attitude" towards her oversight duties.
xAI was founded in July of last year and has raised $6 billion at a valuation of $180 billion in May of this year. Musk's goal is to catch up with competitors OpenAI and Anthropic, who have already taken the lead in the race to develop intelligent chatbots. Tesla CEO admitted in an interview this week that his top AI model is an order of magnitude weaker than OpenAI's.
Key Points:
🚀 Musk seeks Tesla board approval to inject $5 billion into xAI, further entangling his network of tech companies.
🤖 Tesla is seeking to transform itself from an electric vehicle manufacturer into a robotics and AI company, with Musk promising a fleet of autonomous "robotaxis" and humanoid robots driven by this technology.
💰 xAI was founded in July of last year and raised $6 billion at a valuation of $180 billion in May of this year, with Musk aiming to catch up with competitors OpenAI and Anthropic.