Elon Musk denies reports of his artificial intelligence (AI) startup xAI holding talks on its shares in Tesla’s future revenue in exchange for its resources.
On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the electric vehicle (EV) maker would license the startup’s AI models to gain certain upgrades. These improvements include its driver-assistance software and full self-driving (FSD) technology.
In exchange for shares, the AI firm would contribute more features for the auto giant, such as a voice assistant like Siri and software for Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot.
According to the proposed contract, xAI would get some of Tesla’s earnings. Musk said that the EV manufacturer benefitted from the engineers at the startup, which boosted its potential for unsupervised FSD.
However, the billionaire added that there is no need to obtain any license for the AI company, clarifying that the reports are false.
The denied claims mentioned that the revenue-sharing agreement between xAI and Tesla would be based on Tesla’s reliance on the startup rather than its own. Moreover, they stated that the company executives discussed an even split from the automaker’s FSD.
In addition, formal collaboration with xAI aligns with the CEO’s history of sharing resources across his multiple businesses. On the other hand, it triggered worries about potential conflicts of interest, mainly those about sharing earnings.
Musk Confirms xAI Not to Gain Money from Tesla
Musk clarified that his new AI startup, xAI, has no plans to generate money by sharing its technology with the EV maker.
Based on his X post, the AI firm’s technology is far too advanced to be integrated into Tesla’s vehicles. He wrote that its massive models are likely impossible to run on the automaker’s inference computer.
Furthermore, the billionaire expounded details about Tesla’s capabilities, like its features that can turn real-world video data into driving commands. Additionally, Tesla is designed to run on smaller and less powerful computers, unlike the larger systems used by xAI.
