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Elon Musk’s ‘Dexit’ sparks corporate exodus, threatens Delaware’s business throne

MINISTÉRIO DAS COMUNICAÇÕES, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

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Delaware’s corporate grip seems to be slipping. Frustrated CEOs, echoing Elon Musk’s frustrations with the state, are ditching the state’s Chancery Court and reincorporating elsewhere—a movement that has been colloquially dubbed as “Dexit.”

The “Dexit” Exodus:

  • Meta, Dropbox, Pershing Square, Trade Desk, Fidelity National Financial, and Sonoma Pharmaceuticals have drafted up plans to potentially exit Delaware and incorporate somewhere else, as noted in a Yahoo Finance report. 
  • These companies, if they do leave, would join Elon Musk’s Tesla, SpaceX, Boring Company, Neuralink, and X.
  • The trend has been informally dubbed as “Dexit.”
  • Musk’s companies left the state after Delaware Judge Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick struck down the CEO’s 2018 pay package after all its targets had already been achieved.

Musk’s warning: 

  • Musk has been very open about his disdain over Delaware’s courts. “Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware,” he posted on X in January 2024. 
  • Musk’s frustration with Delaware became even more evident after Chancellor McCormick refused to consider the decision of TSLA shareholders, who ratified the CEO’s pay package during its 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
  • Tesla shareholders have voted to reincorporate the company in Texas instead of Delaware during its last annual meeting.

Experts Weigh In: 

  • “I think there is a lot of pressure on Delaware,” said University of Virginia Law School professor Michal Barzuza. “And I think the more moving, the easier it becomes for others to move.”
  • Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman was among the entrepreneurs who have opted to leave Delaware. In a post on X, he announced that he is leaving the state for Nevada.
  • “We are reincorporating our management company in Nevada for the same reason. Top law firms are recommending Nevada and Texas over Delaware,” Ackman wrote.
  • Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal shared similar sentiments in recent weeks.
  • “I’ve tried cases to Delaware juries, enjoyed friendships with Delaware judges, and taught classes to Delaware lawyers. The Hotel DuPont is a familiar stay, and I’ve bought too many shirts and ties to count at Wright & Simon in Wilmington. And so I share this with affection, not animosity:  Delaware is at serious risk of losing its standing as the leading state of incorporation for American companies,” Grewal wrote.

The Stakes for Delaware:

  • For roughly a century, Delaware has lured companies with business-friendly laws, a specialized court, and easy filings. Due to these, the state hosts over two-thirds of Fortune 500 firms.
  • Incorporation fees are a notable part of Delaware’s economy. In 2024, incorporation fees brought $1.33 billion to the state. 
  • Delaware rivals like Nevada, Texas, and Wyoming are now muscling in with their own pro-business pitches.
  • New Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer is digging into Chancery complaints.
  • “I’m hearing something similar from a number of Delaware companies and attorneys. That they feel like they get the same judge every time when they come to Delaware business court, and they don’t feel like they are getting a fair hearing,” he told CNBC.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Elon Musk

SpaceX officially acquires xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX has officially acquired xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise in what is the first move to bring Elon Musk’s companies under one umbrella.

On February 2, SpaceX officially announced the acquisition of xAI, uniting two powerhouse companies under a single entity, creating what the space exploration company called in a blog post “one of the most ambitious, vertically integrated innovation engines on (and off) Earth.”

The deal will integrate xAI’s advanced AI capabilities, including the Grok chatbot and massive training infrastructure, with SpaceX’s rocket technology, Starlink satellite network, and ambitious space exploration goals.

The acquisition comes at a pivotal moment: xAI is valued at around $230 billion as of late 2025, and has been racing to scale AI compute amid global competition from companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta. Meanwhile, SpaceX, which was recently valued at $800 billion, is facing escalating costs for its multiplanetary ambitions.

SpaceX-xAI merger discussions in advanced stage: report

By combining forces, the merged entity gains a unified approach to tackle one of AI’s biggest bottlenecks: the enormous energy and infrastructure demands of next-gen models.

Musk wrote in a blog post on SpaceX’s website that:

“In the long term, space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale. To harness even a millionth of our Sun’s energy would require over a million times more energy than our civilization currently uses! The only logical solution therefore is to transport these resource-intensive efforts to a location with vast power and space. I mean, space is called “space” for a reason.”

Musk details the need for orbital data centers, stating that his estimate is that “within 2 to 3 years, the lowest cost way to generate AI compute will be in space.

This cost-efficiency alone will enable innovative companies to forge ahead in training their AI models and processing data at unprecedented speeds and scales, accelerating breakthroughs in our understanding of physics and invention of technologies to benefit humanity.”

SpaceX recently filed for approval from the FCC to launch up to one million solar-powered satellites configured as high-bandwidth, optically linked compute platforms.

These facilities would harness near-constant sunlight with minimal maintenance, delivering what the company projects as transformative efficiency.

Musk has long argued that space offers the ultimate solution for power-hungry AI projects. But that’s not all the merger will take care of.

Additionally, it positions the company to fund broader goals. Revenue from the Starlink expansion, potential SpaceX IPO, and AI-driven applications could accelerate the development of lunar bases, as Musk believes multiplanetary life will be crucial to saving civilization.

Critics question the feasibility of massive constellations amid orbital debris concerns and regulatory hurdles. Yet, proponents see it as a bold step toward a multiplanetary computing infrastructure that extends human civilization beyond Earth.

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Elon Musk explains why Tesla’s 4680 battery breakthrough is a big deal

Tesla confirmed in its Q4 and FY 2025 update letter that it is now producing 4680 cells whose anode and cathode were produced during the dry electrode process.

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Credit: Tesla/X

Tesla’s breakthroughs with its 4680 battery cell program mark a significant milestone for the electric vehicle maker. This was, at least, as per Elon Musk in a recent post on social media platform X.

Tesla confirmed in its Q4 and FY 2025 update letter that it is now producing 4680 cells whose anode and cathode were produced during the dry electrode process.

Why dry-electrode matters

In a post on X, Elon Musk stated that making the dry-electrode process work at scale was “incredibly difficult,” calling it a major achievement for Tesla’s engineering, production, and supply chain teams, as well as its partner suppliers. He also shared his praise for the Tesla team for overcoming such a difficult task. 

“Making the dry electrode process work at scale, which is a major breakthrough in lithium battery production technology, was incredibly difficult. Congratulations to the @Tesla engineering, production and supply chain teams and our strategic partner suppliers for this excellent achievement!” Musk wrote in his post.

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Tesla’s official X account expanded on Musk’s remarks, stating that dry-electrode manufacturing “cuts cost, energy use & factory complexity while dramatically increasing scalability.” Bonne Eggleston, Tesla’s Vice President of 4680 batteries, also stated that “Getting dry electrode technology to scale is just the beginning.”

Tesla’s 4680 battery program

Tesla first introduced the dry-electrode concept at Battery Day in 2020, positioning it as a way to eliminate solvent-based electrode drying, shrink factory footprints, and lower capital expenditures. While Tesla has produced 4680 cells for some time, the dry cathode portion of the process proved far more difficult to industrialize than expected.

Together with its confirmation that it is producing 4680 cells in Austin with both electrodes manufactured using the dry process, Tesla has also stated that it has begun producing Model Y vehicles with 4680 battery packs. As per Tesla, this strategy was adopted as a safety layer against trade barriers and tariff risks. 

“We have begun to produce battery packs for certain Model Ys with our 4680 cells, unlocking an additional vector of supply to help navigate increasingly complex supply chain challenges caused by trade barriers and tariff risks,” Tesla wrote in its Q4 and FY 2025 update letter. 

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Tesla director pay lawsuit sees lawyer fees slashed by $100 million

The ruling leaves the case’s underlying settlement intact while significantly reducing what the plaintiffs’ attorneys will receive.

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Credit: Tesla China

The Delaware Supreme Court has cut more than $100 million from a legal fee award tied to a shareholder lawsuit challenging compensation paid to Tesla directors between 2017 and 2020. 

The ruling leaves the case’s underlying settlement intact while significantly reducing what the plaintiffs’ attorneys will receive.

Delaware Supreme Court trims legal fees

As noted in a Bloomberg Law report, the case targeted pay granted to Tesla directors, including CEO Elon Musk, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Kimbal Musk, and Rupert Murdoch. The Delaware Chancery Court had awarded $176 million to the plaintiffs. Tesla’s board must also return stock options and forego years worth of pay. 

As per Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. in an opinion for the Delaware Supreme Court’s full five-member panel, however, the decision of the Delaware Chancery Court to award $176 million to a pension fund’s law firm “erred by including in its financial benefit analysis the intrinsic value” of options being returned by Tesla’s board.

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The justices then reduced the fee award from $176 million to $70.9 million. “As we measure it, $71 million reflects a reasonable fee for counsel’s efforts and does not result in a windfall,” Chief Justice Seitz wrote.

Other settlement terms still intact

The Supreme Court upheld the settlement itself, which requires Tesla’s board to return stock and options valued at up to $735 million and to forgo three years of additional compensation worth about $184 million. 

Tesla argued during oral arguments that a fee award closer to $70 million would be appropriate. Interestingly enough, back in October, Justice Karen L. Valihura noted that the $176 award was $60 million more than the Delaware judiciary’s budget from the previous year. This was quite interesting as the case was “settled midstream.”

The lawsuit was brought by a pension fund on behalf of Tesla shareholders and focused exclusively on director pay during the 2017–2020 period. The case is separate from other high-profile compensation disputes involving Elon Musk.

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Tesla Litigation by Simon Alvarez

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