Tesla proceeded anyway and offered up an argument in support of the investment. Tesla’s justification appears to be tied to xAI’s alignment with its most recent master plan — and how these companies are about to get a lot closer.
“As set forth in Master Plan Part IV, Tesla is building products and services that bring AI into the physical world. Meanwhile, xAI is developing leading digital AI products and services, such as its large language model (Grok),” the shareholder letter reads. “In that context, and as part of Tesla’s broader strategy under Master Plan Part IV, Tesla and xAI also entered into a framework agreement in connection with the investment.”
Tesla said the agreement builds upon an existing relationship with xAI by “providing a framework for evaluating potential AI collaborations between the companies.” Tesla already supplies its Megapack batteries to power xAI data centers, Muskconfirmed last year, and the companyhas includedthe xAI chatbot Grok into some of its vehicles. Bloombergalso reportedthat xAI told investors it plans to build AI for humanoid robots like Tesla’s Optimus.
In its letter to shareholders, Tesla highlighted these and other developments in physical AI and robotics, including plans for developing its Optimus robot, semitrucks, and other autonomous capabilities. The company broadly beat Wall Street estimates on earnings and revenue, but profitfell 46% last year.
“Together, the investment and the related framework agreement are intended to enhance Tesla’s ability to develop and deploy AI products and services into the physical world at scale,” Tesla said in the shareholder letter.
The investment is expected to close in the first quarter.
Source: Techcrunch
