Elon Musk's xAI in Talks for Revenue Share with Tesla, Raising Ethical Concerns

Musk's xAI in talks for share in future Tesla revenue, WSJ reports

(Reuters) - Elon Musk's AI startup xAI has discussed a deal that would give it some revenue from Musk's Tesla in exchange for providing the electric vehicle maker access to its technology and resources, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Under a proposed arrangement as described to investors, Tesla would license xAI's artificial intelligence models to help power full self-driving technology and share some of that revenue with the startup, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. (Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)

Musk's xAI in talks for share in future Tesla revenue, WSJ reports

Sept 7 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's AI startup xAI has discussed a deal that would give it some revenue from Musk's Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab in exchange for providing the electric vehicle maker access to its technology and resources, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Under a proposed arrangement as described to investors, Tesla would license xAI's artificial intelligence models to help power full self-driving technology and share some of that revenue with the startup, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Elon Musk's xAI in talks for share in future Tesla revenue, WSJ reports

Elon Musk's AI startup xAI has discussed a deal that would give it some revenue from Musk's Tesla in exchange for providing the electric vehicle maker access to its technology and resources, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Under a proposed arrangement as described to investors, Tesla would license xAI's artificial intelligence models to help power full self-driving technology and share some of that revenue with the startup, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Musk's xAI in talks for share in future Tesla revenue, WSJ reports

(Reuters) -Elon Musk's AI startup xAI has held talks for a share in future Tesla revenue in return for giving Musk's electric vehicle maker access to xAI's technology and resources, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Tesla would license xAI's artificial-intelligence models to help power full self-driving technology and share some of that revenue with the startup, according to the proposed arrangement as described to investors, the newspaper said.

Elon Musk's AI startup is said to discuss revenue sharing with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Elon Musk's artificial-intelligence startup xAI discussed an agreement to receive revenue from Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) in exchange for providing technology and resources to the maker of electric cars, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. An agreement would be one of the most recent examples of greater interconnections among Musk's businesses. As described to investors, the deal would allow Tesla (TSLA) to use xAI's AI models to help train the carmaker's driver-assistance software, called Full Self-Driving. In return, Tesla (TSLA) would share some of the revenue with xAI, the Journal reported. In addition, xAI would help to develop other features for Tesla (TSLA), such as a voice-activated assistant inside its electric cars and software to power its humanoid robot Optimus. The terms of a revenue-sharing arrangement between xAI and Tesla (TSLA) would partly depend on the extent of Tesla's (TSLA) reliance on xAI's technology, the Journal reported, citing its sources. xAI executives have discussed a 50-50 revenue split from Tesla's (TSLA) FSD. A partnership between xAI and Tesla (TSLA) would add to Musk's practice of sharing assets freely across his business empire. Some of these arrangements have drawn scrutiny from investors in Tesla (TSLA), whose shares are publicly traded. Several Tesla (TSLA) shareholders filed suits alleging that a shift in resources to xAI hurt the carmaker's investors. The cases are pending in the Delaware Court of Chancery, the Journal reported.

Elon Musk's xAI Eyes Share of Future Tesla Revenue in Potential Deal - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Elon Musk's AI venture could bring Tesla a Siri-like voice assistant and advanced software for the Optimus robot. Elon Musk's AI venture xAI is reportedly discussing a potential deal with Tesla Inc. The deal would involve Tesla licensing AI models from xAI for its Full Self-Driving software. What Happened: The proposed deal would entail Tesla sharing a portion of its revenue with xAI. In return, xAI would contribute to the development of additional features for Tesla, such as a voice assistant similar to Siri and software for Tesla's humanoid robot, Optimus. The specifics of the revenue-sharing agreement would be contingent on the extent to which Tesla utilizes xAI's technology in comparison to its own. Discussions between xAI executives and Tesla have reportedly included the possibility of an even revenue split from Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) service, reports The Wall Street Journal. Musk has been vocal about his belief that Tesla's future is heavily dependent on advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence. Tesla's FSD service is currently priced at $99 a month or a flat fee of $8,000. Additionally, Tesla is in the process of developing a robotaxi, which is expected to be unveiled on October 10. Also Read: Elon Musk's AI Startup Could Reach A Whopping $20 Billion Valuation, Exceeding Initial Expectations A formal partnership with xAI aligns with Musk's history of sharing resources across his various businesses. However, this practice has sparked concerns about potential conflicts of interest, particularly in relation to the sharing of resources between publicly traded Tesla and xAI. Several Tesla shareholders have initiated lawsuits, alleging that the redirection of resources to xAI has adversely affected Tesla's investors. These cases are currently under review in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Why It Matters: The potential partnership with xAI could significantly bolster Tesla's AI capabilities, potentially leading to enhanced features and services. However, the deal also raises questions about the fair distribution of resources and potential conflicts of interest, which could have implications for Tesla's shareholders and overall market performance. Read Next Elon Musk Is Feuding With Sam Altman In A Major Lawsuit Over OpenAI -- And One Appears To Already Have The Upper Hand This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Elon Musk's xAI startup could help Tesla with FSD, Optimus, and Siri-like feature, report says

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI could assist in the development of key Tesla initiatives and share in some of the EV maker's revenue, sources told the Wall Street Journal. A proposal that has been shown to investors calls for Tesla to license xAI's AI models to help power Full Self-Driving (FSD), which is the company's driver-assistance software, as well as a Siri-like voice assistant and its Optimus humanoid robot, according to the report. The amount of revenue that Tesla shares with xAI would depend on how much of the startup's technology is used, though xAI has discussed an even split for FSD, the report added. Representatives for xAI have also told investors that it's a future provider of critical technologies for Tesla's software products, sources told the WSJ. Tesla and xAI didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The discussions about a Tesla revenue-sharing deal comes as xAI is flush with capital and ramps up its own projects. In May, xAI raised $6 billion from Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, among others. And last weekend, xAI brought online a new supercomputer dubbed Colossus, which is designed to train its large language model known as Grok, a rival to OpenAI's GPT-4. While Grok is only available to paying subscribers of Musk's social media platform X, many Tesla experts believe it will eventually form the artificial intelligence powering Optimus. Musk himself has raised the prospect of deeper ties between xAI and Tesla, saying in July he would discuss with the carmaker's board a potential $5 billion investment in his AI startup. And on an earnings call that month, he told analysts that xAI had already been "helpful in advancing Full Self-Driving and in building up the new Tesla data center." But Musk's practice of bringing his various companies closer together has been controversial with some investors and lawmakers. In June, he acknowledged diverting Nvidia chips designed to train neural networks from Tesla to X and xAI. "Tesla had no place to send the Nvidia chips to turn them on, so they would have just sat in a warehouse," he posted on X. Meanwhile, Musk increasingly sees autonomy as key to Tesla's future and has said the company will spend $10 billion this year on AI. The company also will reportedly unveil its highly anticipated robotaxi at an event in October. Tesla bulls like Ark Investment's Cathie Wood see robotaxis as foundational to the company's valuation and potential upside. In July, she predicted an autonomous taxi platform will be the catalyst for a 10-fold increase in Tesla's stock price. "Autonomous taxi platforms are the biggest AI project evolving today," she told Bloomberg TV.