Elon Musk Opposes Tesla-xAI Merger, Considers Investment Option

Musk says he does not support merger between Tesla and xAI

July 14 (Reuters) - Billionaire Elon Musk said in a Monday post on X he does not support a merger between Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab and his artificial intelligence startup xAI. On Sunday, Musk had said he will ask Tesla shareholders to vote whether the electric vehiclemaker can invest in xAI. Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence * ADAS, AV & Safety * Software-Defined Vehicle * Sustainable & EV Supply Chain

Musk says he does not support a merger between Tesla and xAI but backs investment

Elon Musk on Monday said he does not support a merger between xAI and Tesla, as questions swirl over the future relationship of the electric automaker and artificial intelligence company. X account @BullStreetBets_ posted an open question to Tesla investors on the social media site asking if they support a merger between Tesla and xAI. Musk responded with "No." The statement comes as the tech billionaire contemplates the future relationship between his multiple businesses. Overnight, Musk suggested that Tesla will hold a shareholder vote at an unspecified time on whether the automaker should invest in xAI, the billionaire's company that develops the controversial Grok AI chatbot. Last year, Musk asked his followers in an poll on social media platform X whether Tesla should invest $5 billion into xAI. The majority voted "yes" at the time. Musk has looked to bring his various businesses closer together. In March, Musk merged xAI and X together in a deal that valued the artificial intelligence company at $80 billion and the social media company at $33 billion. Musk also said last week that xAI's chatbot Grok will be available in Tesla vehicles. The chatbot has come under criticism recently, after praising Adolf Hitler and posting a barrage of antisemitic comments.

Musk says he does not support merger between Tesla and xAI

(Reuters) -Elon Musk said on Monday he does not support a merger between his electric vehicle maker Tesla and his artificial intelligence startup xAI, which owns the Grok chatbot and competes with the likes of OpenAI's ChatGPT. In response to a user post on X that asked Tesla investors if they supported a merger between the two companies, Musk replied "No." On Sunday, Musk had said he would ask Tesla shareholders to vote whether Tesla can invest in xAI, after earlier saying "it would be great" if Tesla could do so. Tesla and xAI did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. xAI acquired X, formerly called Twitter and also owned by Musk, in a $33 billion deal in March this year, valuing the combined group at $80 billion at the time. Sources told Reuters in June that xAI had been in talks to raise money at a valuation of more than $120 billion, while a valuation of as high as $200 billion was also discussed. The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Musk's SpaceX had committed $2 billion to xAI as part of a $5 billion equity round. (Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Mrigank Dhaniwala)