Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) boss Elon Musk has prompted speculation about his ownership stake after posting on social media X that he was reluctant to grow the electric vehicle (EV) firm into artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.
Responding in a thread discussing his wish for a new compensation package from the auto manufacturer, Musk said he was “uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI and robotics without having [around] 25% voting control”.
He added such a stake would be “enough to be influential”.
I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned.
Unless that is the case, I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla. You don’t seem to understand…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 15, 2024
Musk currently owns around 13% of Tesla after selling off some 100 million shares in 2022 to fund his takeover of Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), which has subsequently become X.
Given Musk added he would “prefer to build products outside of Tesla” without such a package, Wedbush analysts noted the billionaire had “created a firestorm”.
“The street views Tesla correctly as a disruptive tech leader,” analysts said in a note.
“If Musk ultimately went down the path to create his own company for his next generation AI projects this would clearly be a big negative for the Tesla story.”
However, Wedbush wrote the rumours off as “just more drama in the Tesla story”, anticipating Musk and Tesla’s board would reach an agreement in the coming months.
“We believe this [...] will not bear fruit,” the bank added.
“However, it's not what the bulls want to see as it creates noise and gives the bears something to run with.”
Wedbush reiterated Tesla’s ‘outperform’ rating, alongside a share price target of US$250 - up 60% on Monday’s close.
“It's a new era of AI technology coming to Tesla and Musk remains the key asset and hearts and lungs of the Tesla story,” analysts continued.
“Musk is Tesla and Tesla is Musk and AI is a key to the future of Tesla.”