Markets Defused aims to give an easy-to-understand and straightforward recap of the day’s most engaging business and stock market news.
- Tesla pay row
- Musk raises $6bn for AI venture
- Beckham teams up with Alibaba
- INEOS confident over Manchester United position
Tesla shareholders ‘urged’ to vote against Musk’s pay deal
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shareholders were ‘urged’ to deny Elon Musk a bumper $58 billion pay package, which was first instated back in 2018.
Glass Lewis a shareholder ‘proxy’ advisor is recommending shareholders vote against the pay award that was brought back into contention by a Delaware court which voided the 2018 award – which gave Musk access to some 300 million options over Tesla shares.
The court claimed that the Tesla board had not adequately disclosed potential conflicts of interest between Musk and the board.
Now, a new vote will go in front of shareholders with additional disclosures at a meeting to be held on 13 June. If shareholders vote against it, then Musk’s pay package – including the validity of his options would potentially be reset.
In the current form, the pay deal effectively gives Musk control over around 20% of Tesla. Back in 2018, proxy advisors like Glass Lewis voted against the original pay deal, but more than 70% of Tesla stockholders backed Musk.
Elon Musk raised $6bn for X AI venture
Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, has successfully raised $6 billion in a Series B funding round, boosting its valuation to $24 billion. The funding round was backed by investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
Proceeds are expected to be used to bring xAI’s initial products to market, as well as develop more advanced infrastructure, and expedite the research and development of future technologies.
Musk, who founded xAI in July last year, on X (formerly called Twitter) said the company’s valuation was $18 billion before the new funding.
xAI has already launched Grok, an AI chatbot with enhanced features available to X Premium subscribers.
The company is also said to be recruiting engineers and researchers to further strengthen its technological capabilities in Palo Alto, San Francisco, and London.
David Beckham teamed up with Alibaba ahead of Euro 24
Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) has teamed up with ex-Manchester United and England captain David Beckham, who will be a global brand ambassador to the Chinese-owned e-commerce platform, AliExpress.
It is part of Alibaba’s marketing campaign for UEFA Euro 2024, which kicks off next month in Germany.
Beckham is slated to feature in the "Score More with AliExpress" promotion during the tournament, which will offer fans special deals and prizes.
“AliExpress is helping fans get even closer to UEFA Euro 2024 this summer, by offering them great prizes as the action takes place on the pitch,” Beckham said via a statement.
AliExpress is among a number of major Chinese companies sponsoring the Euros, with other names including BYD and Vivo.
Nice one! INEOS confident Manchester United can play Europa League
Manchester United's co-owner, INEOS, are said to be confident that the Manchester club will be allowed to compete in the Europa League next season despite UEFA rules that restrict multiple clubs with shared ownership from participating in the same competition.
United’s FA Cup win at the weekend see the club arrive in next season’s Europa League draw alongside Nice, which is also owned by INEOS Sport.
INEOS has been in direct dialogue with UEFA to find a solution to this conflict, according to press reports, which added that the company is confident that the clubs will still participate in the competition.
An independent panel is expected to make a decision on the matter before the Europa League qualifying rounds begin in July.
In the past, similar ownership issues have been resolved by altering ownership structures.
If a solution is not reached, Manchester United could be relegated to the Europa Conference League, as they finished lower in the Premier League than fifth-placed Nice did in Ligue 1.
INEOS, owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, holds a 27.7% stake in Manchester United and has been in control of the club's football operations. The company completed its takeover of Nice in 2019 and also owns Swiss club FC Lausanne-Sport, although the latter has not qualified for European competition this season.