Elon Musk makes big bets that could alter the course of history if successful; yet not all investors concur with his latest move.
Elon Musk’s $44 billion offer to purchase Twitter has caused months of drama and legal challenges, but its core issue remains: to what degree can Musk trust Twitter not to harbor fake and spam accounts.
Tesla
Anne Marie Squeo thought she had joined an eco-conscious club when she purchased her fiery red Tesla sports utility vehicle, but when CEO Elon Musk began sharing right-wing conspiracy theories on Twitter and posting pictures with weapons by his bed she became dismayed.
Established in 2003, Tesla set out to revolutionize the automobile industry through electric vehicles. However, due to affordability issues for their cars and an expansion into energy storage and solar farms. Their headquarters was moved from Palo Alto, California, to Austin Texas by 2021 while they established a factory in Germany producing Model Y SUVs and Cybertruck pickups.
As Tesla grows, its shareholders have become increasingly concerned by Elon Musk’s behavior and political opinions. Some shareholders have called for his ouster as CEO; others prefer for it to establish its own voice separate from his. Company filings show he plans on exercising 3 more blocks of options totalling 25.3 million shares and increasing his accumulated stake in the company.
SpaceX
Zip2 and PayPal were his initial ventures, but after selling PayPal for $307 million in 1999 he focused on space travel by founding SpaceX – designing and building rockets and spacecraft, while winning billions of dollars worth of government contracts launching astronauts and satellites for NASA as well as flying spacecraft for US military. Elon musk buys Xvideos
SpaceX has established itself as a premier provider of reusable rockets, with more than 50 boosters having successfully returned back to Earth or an offshore drone ship since its introduction. Musk believes reusing rockets will drastically lower costs associated with transporting cargo and people into orbit.
Recently, SpaceX has focused on its Starship project; an even larger rocket than Falcon Heavy intended to transport cargo and eventually passengers between Earth’s locations and outer space using electric motors rather than traditional fuel sources. It has attracted investment interest from Jack Dorsey, Joe Rogan and Larry Ellison among others – investors that may soon include Bill Gates.
SolarCity
SolarCity was established by brothers Peter and Lyndon Rive in 2006 on advice from cousin Elon Musk with an aim of speeding up adoption of sustainable energy sources such as solar. However, after several financial missteps resulted in debt accumulation that nearly led to bankruptcy proceedings against SolarCity.
Musk used SpaceX funds to purchase $255 million worth of SolarCity bonds – a risky decision which could have crippled Tesla’s space and automotive businesses if SolarCity collapsed.
Now, SolarCity assets have been integrated into Tesla and fall under senior vice president Drew Baglino, but likely won’t receive as much focus compared to its other key aspects of business. Furthermore, it remains uncertain how combining money-losing companies will result in long-term gains.
Neuralink
Neuralink was established in 2016 to develop and market a brain-computer interface device. It currently consists of implanting lithium batteries with small computer chips using surgical robots into users’ skulls for monitoring purposes, with their device then communicating with smartphones and other devices that users control simply through thought alone. While Neuralink claims its device can treat neurological conditions, Musk also sees it as a means to merge human and artificial intelligence together into one cohesive whole.
Embark’s first human trial will assess the safety of their implant and surgical robot, as well as their ability to read and decode neural activity. While the FDA imposes stringent requirements for human trials before companies can start implanting people, critics are pushing for the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate Musk’s comments regarding the deaths of pigs and monkeys used for research by their company.