Latest news with #SolarCity
Mint
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Mint
Elon Musk's dubious deal for Tesla's investors is a hard sell
Tesla's investors, perhaps a little troubled by the American electric vehicle maker's sagging sales and profits, are to be offered a bonus: A chance to own a slice of an AI model that recently called itself 'MechaHitler." That is but one of the dubious benefits of Elon Musk's plan to have Tesla investors vote on the company investing in his artificial intelligence firm, xAI Holdings. xAI made headlines for all the wrong reasons last week when its chatbot Grok ran amok with anti-semitic replies to queries, followed swiftly by the resignation of Linda Yaccarino, chief executive of X, Musk's social media platform that was rolled into xAI earlier this year. If all that doesn't sound like the best time to pitch Tesla investors on buying in, you maybe weren't around for the SolarCity deal in 2016. Also Read: Musk's woes: Tesla hit refresh on its EVs but it hasn't worked That was when Musk urged Tesla shareholders to buy a faltering rooftop solar company in which he was chair, investor and creditor (his cousin was the CEO). At the time, Musk emphasized the centrality of solar power to Tesla's mission and unveiled a seemingly ingenious product, the solar roof. Today, the solar roof is notable chiefly for its rarity in the wild and Tesla stopped bothering to report solar installations some time ago. On the other hand, SolarCity was afforded a graceful exit and Musk was repaid the money he had lent to it. From that highly specific viewpoint, despite SolarCity's evident troubles, it was a great time for Tesla to buy. In this case, it appears Musk intends for Tesla to merely invest in xAI rather than buy it outright. There is scant insight into how xAI is doing financially, since it is privately held. We do know, however, that it issued $3 billion of secured debt, maturing in 2030, at the end of June with a coupon of 12.5%, currently yielding just over 12%. The rough 8 percentage points spread over Treasuries is in the same ballpark as triple-C rated doesn't suggest financiers are falling over themselves to fund xAI's substantial cash burn, put at over $1 billion a month by a Bloomberg News report in June. Nor does another report that xAI turned to Space X, another Musk vehicle, for $2 billion. Also Read: Mint Quick Edit: Elon Musk's new 'America Party' has spotted a gap in US politics On that basis, even a portion of Tesla's reported $37 billion cash balance would help Musk's AI project, in which Bloomberg estimates he holds a roughly one-third stake. Musk floated a figure of $5 billion when he polled X users on the idea last year. Confusingly, he posted about the plan for Tesla shareholders to vote on providing new funding on Sunday, two days after he rejected reports that xAI was raising fresh funds. Apart from obvious potential conflicts of interest, however, what would Tesla get out of it? I suppose you could argue that xAI's technology would help with realizing Tesla's autonomy and robotics ambitions. But with a full merger seemingly ruled out, for now at least, why would Tesla need to invest rather than just contract xAI's services? More importantly, Musk has been touting Tesla's in-house capabilities on these fronts for years, especially when it comes to robotaxis. The very idea that Tesla needs to kick several billion into a separate company in order to achieve its goals would undermine that narrative. Another possible reason for Tesla to do this would be to incentivize Musk to stay focused on the company. Recall that one of the arguments advanced last year for reinstating a massive options package for Musk that was struck down by a Delaware court was to ensure that he didn't take his best ideas elsewhere. Also Read: Jaspreet Bindra: Grok reflects the personality of its owner Elon Musk It was a breathtaking and egregious stance for the CEO and director of a major listed company, as well as the board, to take. Musk had founded xAI a year before, so he was already taking at least some ideas elsewhere. One thing to keep an eye on is whether Musk's ruling out of an acquisition ultimately holds. Based on current math, and using the reported $200 billion valuation target for xAI's next funding round, buying the company with stock would help him boost his current stake in Tesla from just under 13%, excluding options, to more than 16% in a combined entity, if all else is equal. In any case, Musk's pledges of focus aren't exactly rock solid. This is the man who in late April told investors he would step back significantly from his political work, but only to announce he was forming a whole new political party less than three months later. Regardless, the example of SolarCity, along with Tesla's outlandishly resilient stock, suggest any vote on investing in xAI would be likely to pass. When so much of Tesla's valuation rests on sheer investor faith in Musk, his wishes tend to be more like commands. ©Bloomberg The author is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
消息指 SpaceX 或向 xAI 注資 20 億美元，Elon Musk 旗下公司人、財不停交換
擁有多家巨型企業的世界首富 Elon Musk，旗下宇宙探索公司 SpaceX 近期可能會向同門 AI 公司 xAI 投入 20 億美元。據《華爾街日報》援引接近 SpaceX 的投資者消息，此次投資將納入 xAI 正在進行的 50 億美元股權融資（另有 50 億美元債務融資）之中，該輪融資由摩根士丹利於六月底牽頭公布。 此次 20 億美元出資將成為 SpaceX 首次對 xAI 的投資，也是其迄今為止向外部公司投入的最大單筆資金之一。值得注意的是，SpaceX 已在其 Starlink 網絡服務中採用 xAI 的聊天機器人 Grok 提升客戶服務體驗，並計劃在更多業務上展開合作。 Elon Musk 並非首次如此「左手交右手」，最著名的先例是 2016 年 Tesla 以 26 億美元全股票交易收購太陽能設備公司 SolarCity。SolarCity 由 Musk 堂兄 Peter 及 Lyndon Rive 創辦，Musk 本人為 SolarCity 董事會主席並持股 22%。 此外，SpaceX 也是 Elon Musk 用於壯大其他旗下公司的工具，包括早年曾藉此為 Tesla 借得 2,000 萬美元；掘隧道公司 The Boring Company 也據指有使用到 SpaceX 的儀器；甚至是收購 Twitter 時就借得過 10 億美元短期貸款。 更多內容： Tesla to buy SolarCity in $2.6 billion stock deal SpaceX to Invest $2 Billion Into Elon Musk's xAI Elon Musk's SpaceX might invest $2 billion in Musk's xAI 緊貼最新科技資訊、網購優惠，追隨 Yahoo Tech 各大社交平台！ 🎉📱 Tech Facebook： 🎉📱 Tech Instagram： 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 社群： 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 頻道： 🎉📱 Tech Telegram 頻道：
Bloomberg
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Musk Offers Tesla a Dubious Deal (Again)
Tesla Inc.'s investors, perhaps a little troubled by the electric vehicle maker's sagging sales and profits, are to be offered a bonus: A chance to own a slice of the model that recently called itself 'MechaHitler'. That is but one of the dubious benefits of Elon Musk's plan to have Tesla investors vote on the company investing in his artificial intelligence firm, xAI Holdings. xAI made headlines for all the wrong reasons last week when its chatbot, Grok, ran amok with antisemitic replies to queries, followed swiftly by the resignation of Linda Yaccarino, chief executive of X, Musk's social media platform that was rolled into xAI earlier this year. If all that doesn't sound like the best time to pitch Tesla investors on buying in, you maybe weren't around for the SolarCity deal in 2016.
India.com
07-07-2025
- Business
- India.com
Who is Elon Musk party's new Treasurer? The Indian-origin man who earns more than Satya Nadella, Mark Zuckerberg, his net worth is…, worked as…
Sleepless nights for Trump as Elon Musk launches new political party, can he run for President in…? New Delhi: Indian-origin Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla's Chief Financial Officer, has emerged as a key figure in Elon Musk's newly announced political venture, the America Party (AMEP). Tesla owner Elon Musk on Sunday announced a new political party called the 'America Party'. In the official filing of this party, Musk named Vaibhav Taneja as the Custodian of Records and Treasurer. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), has earned a staggering USD 139 million in total compensation in 2024 — making it the highest in the world for any CFO. The salary pay package exceeded the earnings of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, placing Taneja in the spotlight as one of the most highly paid finance executives in corporate history. Before joining Tesla, he served a year at SolarCity, the solar energy company Musk co-founded, and nearly 17 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, advising Fortune 500 clients on financial controls and IPO preparation. BREAKING – FEC paperwork has been filed to create the 'America Party,' but the listed treasurer is an Indian-born man named Vaibhav Taneja. — Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) July 6, 2025 All You Need To Know About Vaibhav Taneja's Professional Journey: Vaibhav Taneja's professional journey began in India He earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Delhi University in 1999. The following year, he became a Chartered Accountant through the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India In 2006, Vaibhav became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the United States. He spent nearly 17 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), working in both India and the US In 2016, Taneja made a pivotal career move by joining SolarCity, a solar energy company that was later acquired by Tesla — marking the start of his journey with the electric vehicle leader. Career highlights and expertise Taneja is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Accountant, with deep experience in: US GAAP financial reporting SEC compliance and regulatory filings Internal controls and audit oversight Supporting C-suite leaders and boards of directors Guiding companies through IPOs and major public offerings Streamlining business processes to prevent revenue leakage Vaibhav Taneja and his journey at Tesla In 2017, after the merger of SolarCity with Tesla, Vaibhav joined Elon Musk's company as Assistant Corporate Controller. In 2018, he became Corporate Controller A year later he was appointed Chief Accounting Officer and ascended to the role of Chief Financial Officer in August 2023, succeeding Zach Kirkhorn. In addition to his global responsibilities, Taneja also serves as a director at Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited, where he plays a pivotal role in shaping Tesla's expansion strategy in India.
Time of India
06-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Who is Vaibhav Taneja, Indian-origin Tesla CFO declared Treasurer of Elon Musk's party?
Image credits: X Elon Musk , the world's richest man and a former close advisor and ally of the American President Donald Trump has had quite a time paving a lane away from his former supporter and slowly creating a stand against everything he previously sponsored. While he has been vocal on X about the POTUS's actions like the Big Beautiful Bill recently made a big move against him by launching his very own political party- America Party. According to the screenshots of the FEC form viral on social media, the America Party is headquartered at 1 Rocker Road, Hawthorne and Musk's name is mentioned as the single candidate. Under the form, Indian-origin Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja is listed as the treasurer and the custodian of records, with a Texas address being listed as his. Who is Vaibhav Taneja and how is he so close to Musk? Know all about him below! Who is Vaibhav Taneja? Image credits: X Vaibhav Taneja is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Tesla. The 47-year-old assumed the role in August 2023 after the departure of Zach Kirkhorn. Taneja joined the company in 2017 through its acquisition of SolarCity, where he was serving in a senior finance role. He began as an Assistant Corporate Controller and rose to the ranks of Corporate Controller, Chief Accounting Officer, and now Chief Financial Officer. Over the years has played an eminent role in its financial operations and accounting. Before SolarCity, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for almost 17 years in both India and the United States. In terms of education, he holds a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce from the University of Delhi in India and qualified in chartered accountancy from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in 2000 and became a certified public accountant in 2006. Recently, he also came into light due to his viral compensation package of a whopping $139 million in 2024, surpassing top CEOs such as Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai. Much of his package consists of stock options and equity grants which were issued upon his promotion to CFO in August 2023. With over 17 years of experience in technology, retail and telecommunication, Taneja is a master of US GAAP, financial statement audits and SEC filings. He has gradually gained experience through various positions and risen in rank at successful multi-national companies.
