Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, demanded that the company's board of directors give him shares worth more than $80 billion if he wants him to continue developing products based on artificial intelligence.
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 enough control of the company as it develops robots and other artificial intelligence technologies.
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 Its value has plummeted. An additional 12 percent of Tesla would be worth $82 billion at the current share price, effectively recouping Musk's investment in Twitter (which he has said he regrets) and then some.
“I feel uncomfortable making Tesla a leader in ai and robotics without having ~25% voting control,” Musk wrote on X. “Enough to be influential, but not so much that they can't unseat me.”
He continued: “Unless that's the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.” But he also said the board would not take any action until a Delaware judge rules on a lawsuit filed by a Tesla shareholder challenging a previous compensation plan that was instrumental in making Musk the world's richest person.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk's lawsuit 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 start offering electric vehicles, which are essential to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. But Musk's behavior and statements have weighed on the stock price and gotten him into trouble with regulators.
Tesla shares fell when Musk sold part of his stake to buy Twitter. The stock also suffered after Musk said in 2018 that he had the money to take Tesla private and delist it from the stock market. Musk was unable to execute the plan.
The company's shares have fallen about 14 percent so far this year, but are up about 60 percent in the past 12 months.
Musk did not specify what products he might develop outside the company. He already started a separate ai business called X.ai, which last year launched the Grok chatbot to select users. Tesla is developing a robot called Optimus that, according to a video posted by Tesla on X on Monday, can fold a shirt. Tesla also uses artificial intelligence in its driver assistance and autonomous driving systems.
On X, some of Musk's fans applauded his statement and said he earned his money. But others said it was their fault that his stake in the company had fallen. “They didn't force you to sell your shares,” one user wrote, adding, “why should the board do anything to rectify this for you?”
A stake of less than 15 percent of the company, Musk said, “makes an acquisition by dubious interests too easy.”
