News
U.S. Senator urges Tesla board to investigate Musk’s conflicts of interest
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has written a letter to Tesla’s Board of Directors encouraging them to investigate Elon Musk for conflicts of interest between his many companies.
The letter, which was made public on Thursday, alleges that Musk has an ongoing conflict of interest between Tesla, xAI and his other companies, adding that he has not been “addressing his competing priorities.” The letter also highlights a time in June when Tesla had around 12,000 Nvidia chips initially destined for the publicly-traded Tesla redirected to the privately-owned X for storage,
“I write to you with ongoing concern that Tesla’s Board of Directors appears to be failing to meet
its fiduciary duties to Tesla’s shareholders by neglecting to address company CEO Elon Musk’s
apparent conflicts of interest,” Warren writes.
“Mr. Musk has long juggled various enterprises in addition to Tesla, as he leads several private companies, including SpaceX, Neuralink, The Boring Company,2 and X Corp. However, recent reporting indicates that Mr. Musk may not be adequately addressing his competing priorities.”
In addition to discussing the redirection of Tesla’s Nvidia chips to the X headquarters, Warren discusses the very founding of xAI as an “unavoidable conflict of interest” for Musk, especially given his touting of Tesla as an AI company. Warren also argues that Tesla’s board has neglected its duties surrounding corporate governance, and has instituted a culture that’s lacking in oversight of the company, much to the dismay of shareholders.
You can read Warren’s full letter to the Tesla Board of Directors below.
Senator Elizabeth Warren… by zacharydvisconti
Some Tesla shareholders have also signed onto a letter responding to Warren, as spearheaded by Alexandra Merz. The letter claims that Warren’s actions were “politically motivated,” pointing to the upcoming presidential election.
📜 Sen Warren
Only 24h and already 1,742 signers of the letter to Senator Warren. You are amazing.
If someone from MA knows a journalist there, let me know.
To sign:
-> https://t.co/vjJS5w26sg or
-> https://t.co/eWCX59xzJFWill print out on Wednesday and mail to her. https://t.co/8Y5Ate91nG
— Ale𝕏andra Merz 🇺🇲 (@TeslaBoomerMama) August 11, 2024
This is far from the first time that Warren and Musk have sparred online, and it comes as just one of many letters the U.S. Senator has penned over the years regarding Tesla.
In March, Warren wrote a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) encouraging the regulatory body to investigate the Tesla Board of Directors and the company as a whole, due to allegations that the Board failed to manage Elon Musk’s actions as the leader of both X and Tesla.
The letter echoed another letter written by Warren in 2023, in which the U.S. Senator said that the Board had a “lack of independence” from the CEO, once again calling on the SEC to investigate securities fraud.
In 2022, Warren also penned another letter to the Board claiming that Musk had “abandoned his post” at Tesla in order to complete his purchase of what was then Twitter.
Tesla’s Elon Musk promptly flattens US Senator Warren’s claim that he doesn’t pay taxes
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
Elon Musk
Music City Loop could highlight The Boring Company’s real disruption
The real story behind the tunneling startup’s Nashville tunnel project is the company’s targeted $25 million per mile construction cost.
Recent commentary on social media has highlighted what could very well prove to be The Boring Company’s real disruption.
The analysis was shared by tech watcher Aakash Gupta on social media platform X, where he argued that the real story behind the tunneling startup’s Nashville tunnel project is the company’s targeted $25 million per mile construction cost.
According to Gupta’s breakdown, Nashville’s 2018 light rail proposal was priced at roughly $200 million per mile. New York’s East Side Access project reportedly cost about $3.5 billion per mile, while Los Angeles Metro expansion projects have approached $1 billion per mile.
By comparison, The Boring Company has stated it can construct 13 miles of twin tunnels in the Music City Loop for between $240 million and $300 million total. That implies a cost near $25 million per mile, or roughly a 95% reduction from industry averages cited in the post.
Several technical departures from conventional tunneling allow the Boring Company to lower its costs, from its smaller 12-foot diameter tunnels to its fully electric Prufrock machines that are designed to mine continuously with no personnel inside the tunnel and their capability to “porpoise” for easy launch and retrieval.
Tesla and Space CEO Elon Musk responded to the post on X, stating simply that “Tunnels are so underrated.”
The Boring Company has seen some momentum as of late, with the company recently signing a construction contract in Dubai and the Universal Orlando Loop progressing. Recent reports have also pointed to tunnels potentially being constructed to solve traffic congestion issues near the Giga Nevada area.
While The Boring Company’s tunnels have so far been used for Loop systems publicly for now, Elon Musk recently noted that the tunneling startup’s underground passages would not be limited only to ride-hailing vehicles.
In a reply to a post on X which discussed the specifications of the Music City Loop, Musk clarified that “any fully autonomous electric cars can use the tunnels.” This suggests that vehicles potentially running systems like FSD Supervised, even if they are not Teslas, could be used in systems like the Music City Loop in the future.
Elon Musk
SpaceX IPO could push Elon Musk’s net worth past $1 trillion: Polymarket
The estimates were shared by the official Polymarket Money account on social media platform X.
Recent projections have outlined how a potential $1.75 trillion SpaceX IPO could generate historic returns for early investors. The projections suggest the offering would not only become the largest IPO in history but could also result in unprecedented windfalls for some of the company’s key investors.
The estimates were shared by the official Polymarket Money account on social media platform X.
As noted in a Polymarket Money analysis, Elon Musk invested $100 million into SpaceX in 2002 and currently owns approximately 42% of the company. At a $1.75 trillion valuation following SpaceX’s potential $1.75 trillion IPO, that stake would be worth roughly $735 billion.
Such a figure would dramatically expand Musk’s net worth. When combined with his holdings in Tesla Inc. and other ventures, a public debut at that level could position him as the world’s first trillionaire, depending on market conditions at the time of listing.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index currently lists Elon Musk with a net worth of $666 billion, though a notable portion of this is tied to his TSLA stock. Tesla currently holds a market cap of $1.51 trillion, and Elon Musk’s currently holds about 13% to 15% of the company’s outstanding common stock.
Founders Fund, co-founded by Peter Thiel, invested $20 million in SpaceX in 2008. Polymarket Money estimates the firm owns between 1.5% and 3% of the private space company. At a $1.75 trillion valuation, that range would translate to approximately $26.25 billion to $52.5 billion in value.
That return would represent one of the most significant venture capital outcomes in modern Silicon Valley history, with a growth of 131,150% to 262,400%.
Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, invested $900 million into SpaceX in 2015 and is estimated to hold between 6% and 7% of the private space firm. At the projected IPO valuation, that stake could be worth between $105 billion and $122.5 billion. That’s a growth of 11,566% to 14,455%.
Other major backers highlighted in the post include Fidelity Investments, Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, Bank of America, and Andreessen Horowitz, each potentially sitting on multibillion-dollar gains.
News
Tesla expands global FSD (Supervised) testing with Abu Dhabi trials
The program marks the emirate’s first formal testing framework for Tesla’s supervised autonomous driving technology.
Tesla has started its first Full Self-Driving (Supervised) road trials in Abu Dhabi under the oversight of the Integrated Transport Centre, also known as Abu Dhabi Mobility.
The program marks the emirate’s first formal testing framework for Tesla’s supervised autonomous driving technology.
FSD (Supervised) road trials are being conducted with the support of the Smart and Autonomous Systems Council and in coordination with the Legislation Lab at the General Secretariat of the UAE Cabinet.
Dr. Abdulla Hamad AlGhfeli, Acting Director General of the Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility), highlighted the agency’s regulatory role in overseeing the FSD (Supervised) tests in a press release.
“The supervision of the Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility) over the commencement of Tesla’s advanced autonomous driving technology tests reflects its regulatory and legislative role. These tests represent a qualitative step to evaluate the technology’s performance in a real-world operating environment and to collect the necessary data to verify its readiness before any future expansion in usage.
“Through this organized framework, and in cooperation with strategic partners, we seek to achieve a balance between supporting innovation and encouraging the adoption of smart solutions on one hand and ensuring the safety of road users on the other, in line with the emirate’s direction to develop an advanced, safe, and sustainable transport system,” he said.
Tesla is putting a lot of effort into expanding the rollout of FSD (Supervised) to territories outside in the United States. During a recent interview with Giga Berlin plant manager Andre Thierig, Musk stated that Tesla is looking to secure approval for FSD (Supervised) in the Netherlands this coming March.
“Tesla has the most advanced real-world AI, and hopefully, it will be approved soon in Europe. We’re told by the authorities that March 20th, it’ll be approved in the Netherlands,’ what I was told. Hopefully, that date remains the same. But I think people in Europe are going to be pretty blown away by how good the Tesla car AI is in being able to drive,” Musk stated.