Tesla CEO Elon Musk just confessed that he thinks his 13% ownership stake in the electric vehicle manufacturer leaves him vulnerable to activist shareholders who could move to oust him from the $1 trillion company. Still, he admitted he shouldn’t have so much control over Tesla that the board can’t fire him if he goes “crazy,” he said during an earnings call on Wednesday.
“It is a big deal—I don’t want to find I have so little control I can be easily ousted by activist shareholders,” Musk said. “That is a major concern to me as I’ve mentioned in the past and I hope that is addressed at the upcoming shareholders meeting.”
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 owns 13% of Tesla, a stake currently valued around $139 billion. He has previously stated he wants to own 25% of the electric vehicle manufacturer as it further expands into AI with unassisted Full Self Driving and robotics. Such a stake would be worth about $267.5 billion and would eclipse holdings by large institutional investors in Tesla such as Vanguard and Blackrock. Musk has worried in the past about the influence of activist investors or proxy advisory firms steering Tesla down the wrong long-term path at the expense of short-term pressures.
