Elon Musk, the Tesla (TSLA) CEO, is seemingly using his social media platform, X, as a podium to publicly pressurise the company’s board to gain more say and control.
Elon Musk publicly vying for more control over Tesla
These developments follow hot on the heels of research predicting that the growth in the electric vehicle (EV) industry will fall to roughly 27% in 2024.
At the start of this year, Canalys, a global technology market analyst firm, stated that a reduction in government subsidies would spill over to consumer interest in EVs. In the fourth quarter of 2023, BYD (002594.SZ), the Chinese EV maker, knocked Tesla out of the top spot as the best-selling EV company worldwide.
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Seemingly, this is one of the reasons Musk is seeking a greater portion of control over Tesla. He took to the virtual arena earlier this week, saying he needs more input if Tesla, which currently solely focuses on EVs, is to make a global impact in artificial intelligence and robotics. In an X post, Musk wrote:
I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned. Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.
In the past, Musk owned more than a 20% stake in Tesla. However, he sold a sizeable portion to fund his then-Twitter takeover. At present, he has approximately 13% of the organisation. This latest blitz once again brought the control issues at Tesla under the spotlight. Many believe Musk has the Tesla board wrapped around his finger.
