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Did you hear? Elon Musk got his $1 trillion pay package. Of course you did, because coverage of the highly anticipated vote is everywhere, including here on TechCrunch. But what does that really mean?
Yes, it’s about money, but it’s more about power and control. You may recall that Musk repeatedly talked about the need to control Tesla and offered a number of scenarios, including one involving a robot army, to make the case.
And the stakes were high; if he didn’t get that check, he threatened to leave. Shareholders simply could not, did not want to imagine Tesla without Elon.
All that money, power and control increases for Musk if Tesla hits milestones based on operations, adjusted profits and market capitalization. Each tranche, if the target is met, will deliver 35.3 million shares to Musk. For example, the first tranche milestone is a $2 trillion market cap. Today, Tesla’s market value is around $1.5 trillion.
Tesla is a strange animal, where the share price often has nothing to do with actual fundamentals. It’s not unusual for Tesla’s stock price to rise because of comments Musk made during an earnings call, even though its quarterly numbers weren’t very good. I’m sure this is incredibly frustrating for other car manufacturers.
Therefore, I am more interested in some of the product and adjusted profit measures attached to this package. Goals include 20 million delivered Tesla vehicles, 10 million active fully self-driving subscriptions, 1 million delivered robots and 1 million robotic axes in commercial operation within 10 years. Scroll to the bottom to take a survey regarding these goals.
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Musk used the shareholder meeting for more than just a victory lap, although that sentiment was certainly present. He made a number of predictions and promises, including that production of their Cybercab will begin in April and that the company may need to build a “gigantic” semiconductor manufacturing facility. He also hinted again at the Roadster 2, which was first revealed as a prototype vehicle in 2017. A production version will now appear on April 1, 2026 — yes, April Fools.
Reminder: That Master Plan 4, which was the centerpiece of Tesla’s pitch to shareholders to approve the $1 trillion pay package, is still very much lacking in detail.
A little bird
We are working on a few spicy items, but nothing is ready yet. In the meantime, remember that our emails are always open for tips.
Do you have a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.
Offer!
Beta Technologiesthe electric aviation startup, pushed ahead with its IPO despite the government shutdown thanks to some relaxed rules courtesy of the SEC. The company made its debut on the stock exchange in New York with a raised increase of 1 billion.
And while the share price didn’t skyrocket on its first day of trading, it didn’t fall either — which has happened with a few recent IPOs.
The Vermont-based company priced shares in its IPO at $34, above its forecast range of $27 to $33. Beta Technologies sold 29.9 million shares to raise $1 billion at a valuation of $7.4 billion. It closed at $36 and even held that ground the following day. Shares have since fallen to around $31.
Of course, this is a long game, and Beta Technologies is still working to commercialize its aerospace products. Let’s see where the company is – and its share price – in a year.
Other deals that caught my eye this week…
Archer Aviation raised $650 million through a public offering of 81.25 million shares, funds that will support its $126 million purchase of Hawthorne Airport, a strategically important airport in Los Angeles. Shareholders did not react favorably, and shares fell more than 12.6% on Friday.
Fun fact: In addition to having a fantastic restaurant, this airport is located in Elon Musk’s backyard. The Tesla Design Studio and SpaceX are right next door, and the airport has been used for various product launches, including the Tesla Semi.
Evotrexa startup developing a hybrid RV travel trailer with an integrated gas engine has emerged from stealth with $16 million in seed funding from Anker, as well as Chinese early-stage venture firms Unity Ventures, Kylinhall Partners and Vision Plus Capital.
Indian two-wheeled giant TVS engine sold its entire stake in the ride-hailing company Rapido for INR 2.88 billion (approx. USD 32 million) to Accel and Prosus’ investment arm, MIH Investments.
Lucid Motors’ majority owner — Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund — increased the cap on a loan deal from $750 million to about $2 billion, giving the company liquidity until 2027.
Rivian reported third-quarter earnings this week, and amid the financial results was a head-scratcher. The company has spun off another company — this time it’s an industrial artificial intelligence and robotics company called Mind Robotics. Recall that Rivian earlier this year spun off a micromobility company called Also. Mind Robotics has already raised a $115 million seed round, which was led by VC firm Eclipse. Jiten Behla partner at Eclipse who used to work at Rivian is a big support for Also.
Notable reads and other goodies
Bryant Walker Smithan associate professor at the School of Law and (by courtesy) School of Engineering at the University of South Carolina, has been a go-to expert and advisor to governments and safety organizations on automated driving for years — especially on how to communicate it to the public. He published a paper last month that I will refrain from sharing here. It’s called “Selvkrowsel” means self-driving.
Ford executives are considering whether to kill the F-150 Lightning truck.
Sure is in the midst of an executive shake-up as it continues its search for a permanent CEO. The EV manufacturer’s chief engineer Eric Bach leaving the company after more than a decade and Jerry Fordwho was quality director, is retiring. TechCrunch also learned James Hawkinswho was VP of Engineering, is also no longer with the company. Meanwhile, Senior Vice President of Powertrain, Emad Dlalabeing elevated to oversee all of “Engineering and Digital.”
Luminaire continues to fight. The company was recently hit with an eviction notice for one of its offices in Orlando, Florida.
Lyft had a positive third quarter that included a profit of $46.1 million. That’s good news considering it reported a loss of $12.4 million in the same quarter last year. Lyft also saw ridership grow (15% year-over-year to 248.8 million) and revenue rose 11% to $1.69 billion compared to the same period last year.
Rivian posted its earnings in the third quarter, and while the company is still operating at a loss, the revenue results appeased Wall Street. The company’s revenue was up 78% year-over-year to $1.56 billion — and hey, that’s nothing. But it also posted a big loss of $1.17 billion in the third quarter, up 6% from the $1.1 billion loss it reported a year earlier.
Waymo plans to launch a robot taxi service in Detroit, Las Vegas and San Diego. If it seems like Waymo is rising fast, you’d be right. Don’t forget, last month at TechCrunch Disrupt, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said that by the end of 2026, “you should expect us to offer 1 million trips per week.” Waymo hasn’t shared the weekly number since April, when it was more than 250,000 trips a week.
One more thing…
It’s time for a vote! Sign up for the newsletter to participate. Have a question you’d like us to ask? Email me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com.