Gerber also disputes the notion that Musk lacks control over Tesla, pointing out that the board consists of Musk's friends and family members, effectively making the company 100% controlled by Musk. Musk's AI firm, xAI, which was launched last year, aims to raise $1 billion in an equity offering and has already secured $135 million from investors.
Key takeaways:
- Elon Musk's demand for more control of Tesla in exchange for keeping AI projects within the company has been termed as 'blackmail' by long-time investor Ross Gerber.
- Musk stated he was uncomfortable developing new projects at Tesla unless his stake was raised to at least 25%.
- Gerber argues that Musk already has control over Tesla, owning 13% of the company, a stake worth around $150 billion, and his stock options make his current stake closer to 20%.
- Musk launched an artificial intelligence firm last year called xAI, which aims to raise $1 billion in an equity offering, and has already secured $135 million from investors.