Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently announced that he wants to increase his voting stake in Tesla to about 25 percent, giving him more control over the company. Musk threatened to “manufacture products outside of Tesla” if his demands were not met.
CNBC report Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of X/Twitter, is said to be trying to increase his influence over Tesla by gaining more voting rights. thing. Musk currently owns approximately 13% of Tesla stock, out of 3.19 billion common shares outstanding, as reported in the company's latest financial report for Q3 2023. Equivalent to approximately 411 million shares.
Musk's ambition for greater control stems from his vision for Tesla's future, saying he is “uncomfortable with growing Tesla into a leader in AI and robotics without having up to 25 percent voting power.” Stated.
I am uncomfortable with building Tesla into a leader in AI and robotics without having up to 25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not enough to be overturned.
Otherwise, I prefer to develop products outside of Tesla. It seems you don't understand…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 15, 2024
Musk added, “You don't seem to understand that Tesla is not one startup, it's 12 startups. Look at the difference in performance between Tesla and GM. Fidelity and other companies own similar stocks as I do, as far as ownership itself is motivation enough. Why don't they come to work?”
Tesla has been betting big on AI and robotics in recent years. Musk predicted that by 2022, Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus will eventually eclipse the company's car business and fully self-driving technology. He highlighted the large investments Tesla has made in the AI and robotics space at Tesla AI Day in September 2022.
But Musk's leadership style and decisions have not always met with universal approval. Shareholders are suing the company over his $56 billion salary from Tesla. This salary contributed significantly to his status as one of the richest people on the planet.
Musk's pursuit of expanded voting rights will likely put more pressure on Tesla's board in 2024. The board is already grappling with issues related to CEO and director compensation, as well as investor concerns about the diversification of attention due to Musk's involvement in multiple ventures, including SpaceX.and X/Twitter
Popular blog supporting Tesla electric cars Electrek commented and wrote about the situation:
This is Elon setting the stage for another wild compensation package. I believe this has already been discussed at the board meeting.
But to be honest, I don't understand how he could be CEO of Tesla at this point.
A clear conflict of interest exists. He has recently reiterated that Tesla is an AI/robotics company and has launched another new AI startup.
Now, he has openly stated that he prefers building new AI products at that startup over Tesla because he has more control (greater ownership) over that startup.
Is this a clear conflict of interest or am I missing something?
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship issues.
