Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc., during a fireside discussion about the risks of artificial intelligence with Rishi Sunak, the British Prime Minister (not pictured), in London, Britain, on Thursday, November 2, 2023.
Tolga Akmen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
That's a big stake, especially considering Musk sold tens of billions of dollars worth of his shares in Tesla in 2022, largely to finance a $44 billion leveraged buyout of Twitter.
Now Musk is seeking even more control over Tesla.
Special, Musk wrote on Monday“I am uncomfortable with making Tesla a leader in AI and robotics without controlling about 25% of the voting rights. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overthrown.”
“If that’s not the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla,” the billionaire executive said on X.
“You don't seem to understand that Tesla is not one startup, but a dozen. Just look at the delta between what Tesla and GM are doing. As far as stock ownership itself as a motivation, Fidelity and others own similar shares to me. Why? Don’t you show up for work?”
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk's post contradicted his previous statements that Tesla was already a major AI and robotics company and its value depended on its capabilities in those areas.
In April 2022, Musk predicted during Tesla's first-quarter earnings call that the company's humanoid robot, Optimus, “will ultimately be worth more than the car business and worth more than fully autonomous driving.”
Tesla unveiled an early Optimus prototype at Tesla AI Day in September of that year, and Musk said in a post surrounding that event: “The purpose of AI Day is to showcase Tesla's immense depth and breadth in AI, computer hardware and to show robotics.”
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 believes Tesla is “tremendously overvalued,” especially compared to the Japanese one Auto giant Toyota.
The comparison with a major competitor that sold more hybrid electric vehicles than battery-electric models annoyed him, Musk said in a post on X“He has the wrong frame of reference. Tesla is an AI/robotics company.”
While Tesla's most recent annual, or 10-K, filing showed that about 95% of its revenue in 2022 came from the “automotive” segment, in its financial filing for the third quarter of 2023, the company described its business as “increasingly focused on products and “Concentrate services”. on artificial intelligence, robotics and automation.”
On Monday morning, Musk published a video clip on X that showed the Optimus robot under development folding laundry at a table, even though the robot was remotely controlled and not autonomous.
Musk's desire to control Tesla even more will undoubtedly increase pressure on Tesla's board in 2024.
In addition to setting appropriate CEO and director compensation, Tesla's board is already facing concerns from some investors over several issues.
Some investors and lawmakers have raised concerns about: Musk's divided focus and use of company resources while continuing to support SpaceX, X Corp. alongside Tesla. and manages other companies; his divisive political and cultural commentary, including recent tweets disparaging corporate diversity and inclusion initiatives; Federal investigations into Musk and Tesla; and concerns about the CEO's drug use, recently reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Musk is also in the middle of a lawsuit in Delaware over his previous $56 billion pay package from Tesla. The unprecedented 2018 CEO compensation plan made Musk one of the richest people in the world.
Shareholder Richard J. Tornetta has sued Musk and Tesla, claiming the CEO's compensation was excessive and its approval was a breach of the fiduciary duties of Tesla and its board.
Musk also noted Monday that Tesla's board is waiting to create a new compensation plan for him until the Tornetta case in Delaware Chancery Court is resolved.
He wrote: “The reason there is no new 'compensation plan' is because we are still awaiting a decision in my Delaware compensation case. The trial for this took place in 2022, but a verdict is still pending.”
Referring to his demand for 25% voting control, he said: “If I have 25%, that means I am influential but can be outvoted if twice as many shareholders vote against me instead of for me. At 15% or less the “for” applies. /against the ratio to override me, makes a takeover by dubious interests too easy.
In an earlier lawsuit in Delaware, several Tesla board members agreed to pay back $735 million to the company last year in a settlement over their own directors' compensation.