Elon Musk recently addressed speculations surrounding a potential revenue-sharing agreement between two of his companies, Tesla and xAI. The Wall Street Journal had reported on this supposed arrangement, suggesting that Tesla would utilize xAI’s AI models in its driver-assistance software. However, Musk took to social media to refute these claims, stating that the report was inaccurate.
In his response, Musk highlighted the valuable insights gained from discussions with engineers at xAI, which had contributed to advancing Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology. Despite this collaboration, Musk emphasized that there was no necessity to license anything from xAI. He explained that the AI models developed by xAI were too complex to run on Tesla’s onboard computer and that the focus was on achieving unsupervised FSD without external dependencies.
Musk’s involvement with xAI, positioned as a competitor to OpenAI, has stirred controversy among Tesla shareholders. Reports earlier this year revealed xAI’s ambitious vision of leveraging data from Musk’s extensive list of companies to enhance technology across the board. This approach has led to legal action against Musk, with shareholders alleging that his focus on xAI has diverted essential resources from Tesla.
The possibility of sharing revenue and technology between Tesla and xAI raises questions about the potential benefits and drawbacks for both companies. While collaboration could lead to significant advancements in AI-driven systems within Tesla vehicles, concerns about resource allocation and conflicts of interest persist. As Musk navigates the complexities of managing multiple ventures simultaneously, transparency and clarity in decision-making become crucial.
Elon Musk’s denial of the reported revenue-sharing arrangement sheds light on the intricate dynamics at play within his corporate ecosystem. As Tesla continues to push boundaries in autonomous driving technology and AI integration, the role of xAI and other affiliated entities remains a subject of scrutiny. Balancing innovation with corporate responsibility will be key as Musk charts the course for his diverse portfolio of companies in the future.