Elon Musk has denied reports suggesting that his AI startup, xAI, held talks with Tesla regarding a revenue-sharing arrangement. According to a recent report, Tesla was allegedly in discussions to license xAI’s artificial intelligence models to enhance its driver-assistance software and full self-driving (FSD) technology, with a share of future Tesla revenue going to xAI in return. However, Musk refuted this on his social media platform, X, calling the report “not accurate.”
The report indicated that xAI would provide Tesla with AI resources to support various projects, including FSD, a voice assistant for Tesla vehicles, and software to power Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus. It also claimed that xAI executives discussed a potential even revenue split from Tesla’s FSD if the automaker heavily relied on xAI’s technology. However, Musk clarified that while Tesla has benefited from exchanges with xAI engineers, there is no licensing agreement between the two companies.
Musk launched xAI in 2023 as a competitor to Microsoft-backed OpenAI. Since its inception, there have been concerns about the potential overlap between Musk’s involvement with xAI and Tesla, particularly with regard to resource allocation. Musk has reassured stakeholders that xAI’s work would be beneficial to Tesla’s developments, such as advancing the company’s self-driving technology and supporting the creation of a new Tesla data center.
He has also expressed that xAI’s chatbot, Grok, could be integrated with Tesla’s software systems, expanding the potential for cross-company collaboration. Despite the potential synergies, Musk emphasized that Tesla has no need to license any technology from xAI, indicating a clear boundary between the two companies.
In July, Musk stated that he and Tesla’s board would discuss a $5 billion investment in xAI. While the relationship between the two companies remains close, Musk’s denial of any formal licensing or revenue-sharing deal suggests that Tesla continues to develop its technologies independently, with support from xAI’s resources and expertise.
As xAI grows, its role in Tesla’s future remains to be seen, particularly in how it may assist in achieving unsupervised full self-driving and other advancements in artificial intelligence. For now, Musk has firmly rejected claims of any formalized financial agreement between xAI and Tesla.
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