Tesla confirmed in its letter to shareholders released on Wednesday that it has formally invested $2 billion in Elon Musk's AI startup xAI. This move marks further deep integration of the interests of two core companies within Musk's business empire, and also finalized the list of investors for xAI's Series E $2 billion funding round.

"Circular Transaction" Amid Controversy

Notably, despite Tesla shareholders expressing clear reservations about this investment last year. In a non-binding vote in November, although there were 1.06 billion votes in favor, due to Tesla's bylaws stating that "abstentions are equivalent to votes against," the total number of opposing votes exceeded the supporting ones, leading to the rejection of the resolution on procedural grounds. However, the Tesla board ultimately chose to proceed with the transaction, sparking discussions about corporate governance and conflicts of interest.

Grok, Musk, xAI

Overall Plan: Digital AI Linking the Physical World

In its earnings call, Tesla defended its investment, stating that it fully aligns with the strategic blueprint of **Master Plan Part Four**:

  • Division of Labor: Tesla focuses on bringing AI into the real physical world (such as autonomous driving and robotics); xAI focuses on leading digital AI products (such as the Grok large model).

  • Collaboration Framework: Both companies have signed a framework agreement aimed at evaluating potential synergies between the two companies at the level of underlying algorithms and application ends.

Deeply Integrated Ecosystem

Before this capital injection, the two companies had already started collaboration. Musk previously confirmed that Tesla not only supplies xAI's data centers with Megapack energy storage batteries, but also integrates the Grok chatbot into some of Tesla's vehicle models. Additionally, xAI plans to develop an artificial intelligence brain for Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot to accelerate its evolution process.