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Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk during a heated discussion on the dangers of artificial intelligence with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, UK, on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023.
Tolga Akmen | Bloomberg | getty images
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who also owns the social network X (formerly known as Twitter), said on Monday he wants about 25% voting control over his electric vehicle business.
Musk already has about 13% stake TeslaOr about 411 million shares of the company’s 3.19 billion shares of common stock outstanding, as reported in the company’s last financial filing for the third quarter of 2023.
That’s a huge stake, especially considering that Musk sold billions of dollars worth of his shares in Tesla in 2022, primarily to finance a $44 billion leveraged buyout of Twitter.
Now, Musk is trying to gain even more control over Tesla.
especially, Musk wrote on Monday“I’m uncomfortable making Tesla the leader in AI and robotics without ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned.”
“Until that happens, I would love to make products outside of Tesla,” the billionaire executive said on X.
“What you don’t understand is that Tesla is not one startup, but a dozen. Just look at the difference between what Tesla does and what GM, As far as stock ownership is concerned I have enough shares in Inspiration, Fidelity and others. Why don’t they come to work?”
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk’s post contradicts comments he had made earlier which said Tesla is already a significant artificial intelligence and robotics company, and its value depends on its strength in these domains.
In April 2022, Musk predicted during Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call that the company’s humanoid robot, Optimus, “will eventually be worth more than the car business and will be worth more than full self-driving.”
Tesla unveiled an early Optimus prototype at Tesla AI Day in September that year, and Musk said in a post around that event, “AI Day aims to showcase Tesla’s immense depth and breadth in AI, computing hardware, and robotics.” Is.”
More recently, on December 27, 2023, Musk criticized Craig Irwin, senior research analyst at Roth Capital, who appeared on CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime”, saying he believed Tesla should Was “grossly overrated”, especially compared with Japanese auto giants toyota,
Musk expressed displeasure at the comparison to a larger competitor that sells more hybrid electric vehicles than battery electric models. in a post on x“He has the wrong frame of reference. Tesla is an AI/robotics company.”
While Tesla’s last annual or 10-K filing showed that about 95% of its revenue in 2022 came from its “Automotive” segment, in its third quarter 2023 financial filing, the company focused its business on “products and services.” Said to be “fast to concentrate”. On artificial intelligence, robotics and automation.”
Also on Monday morning, Musk posted a video clip on X that showed the Optimus robot folding laundry on a table, although the robot was remote operated. and not autonomous,
Musk’s desire to exert more control over Tesla will undoubtedly increase pressure on Tesla’s board of directors in 2024.
In addition to determining appropriate CEO and director compensation, Tesla’s board is already facing concerns from some investors on a number of issues.
Some investors and lawmakers have expressed concerns over: Musk’s divided focus and use of company resources as he continues to run SpaceX, X Corp and other ventures alongside Tesla; His divisive political and cultural commentary, including recent tweets insulting corporate diversity and inclusion initiatives; Federal investigation involving Musk and Tesla; and concerns over drug use by CEOs, recently reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Musk is also facing a lawsuit in Delaware over his first $56 billion pay package from Tesla. The unique 2018 CEO compensation plan made Musk one of the richest people on the planet.
Shareholder Richard J. Tornetta has sued Musk and Tesla, alleging that the CEO’s compensation was excessive and its authorization a breach of fiduciary duty by Tesla and its board.
Musk also noted on Monday that Tesla’s board of directors is waiting to establish a new compensation plan for him until the Tornetta case is decided in Delaware Chancery Court.
He wrote: “The reason there is no new ‘compensation plan’ is that we are still awaiting a decision in my Delaware compensation case. A hearing for this was scheduled for 2022, but a decision has yet to be made.”
Referring to his call for 25% voting control, he said: “If I have 25%, that means I’m influential, but if twice as many shareholders vote against me versus in favor of me then it can be nullified.” At 15% or less, it becomes too easy for dubious interests to take over the for/me ratio.”
In an earlier trial in Delaware, several Tesla board members agreed to pay the company $735 million in a settlement agreement over their own director compensation last year.
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