'Uncomfortable' Musk wants more voting control at Tesla to build AI

San Francisco, Jan 16

Elon Musk on Tuesday said that he is "uncomfortable" growing Tesla to be a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics without having 25 per cent voting control at the company.

The Tesla CEO currently has around 13.4 per cent stake in the electric car company as he sold his shares in order to acquire X for $44 billion in October 2022.

In a post on X, Musk said that unless he gets 25 per cent of control, he would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.

He said that 25 per cent voting control is 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 that Tesla is not one startup, but a dozen. Simply look at the delta between what Tesla does and GM," Musk wrote.

"As for stock ownership itself being enough motivation, Fidelity and others own similar stakes to me. Why don't they show up for work?" Musk added.

He further said that the Tesla board is great.

"If I have 25 per cent (voting control), it means I am influential, but can be overridden if twice as many shareholders vote against me vs for me," the tech billionaire said.

"At 15 per cent or lower, the for/against ratio to override me makes a takeover by dubious interests too easy," he added.