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Elon Musk staying with tesla for 5 more years · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:00
  Welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast, the world's authority
• 0:03
  on Tesla, SpaceX, X Neurolink, and all things Elon.
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  I'm your host, Will Walden. Thanks to our amazing community
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  members like you, we've reached the top 15 of Spotify's video
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  podcast, the top 10 audio podcast on both Apple and
• 0:19
  Spotify for the tech category. So you all make this possible.
• 0:23
  If you want to support us more, check out our Patreon.
• 0:25
  That's patreon.com/stage 0 news, so we can keep this free and
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  open for you to enjoy. Something interesting happened
• 0:35
  the other day. I was looking through our stats
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  on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and I noticed that about 55% of
• 0:43
  you are not subscribed to the show.
• 0:45
  That means 45% of you are subscribed and I really do
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  appreciate your support for the other 55% of you are awesome.
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  But I'm going to ask you for a favor.
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  Could you please hit the subscribe button?
• 0:58
  It'll take you one second. I'm going to promise you 10
• 1:00
  years of this podcast for free. No pay walls.
• 1:04
  I'm not going to charge you anything ever, but I'm going to
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  give you 10 years of this show for free.
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  I've already been doing it for five years and I plan on doing
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  it for 10 more. And the only way that we can
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  continue doing this is with your support.
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  So one second of your time to hit the subscribe button right
• 1:19
  now would help the show tremendously.
• 1:22
  Thank you so much. Elon Musk says he's staying put
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  as Tesla CEO for at least the next five years.
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  Well, what does that actually mean for the company and for
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  everyone who depends on his products, services, and stocks?
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  This isn't just a comment about his career, though.
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  Elon is responding to rising pressure from all sides, lagging
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  sales, investor uncertainty, political blowback, and growing
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  competition in EVs. In a public conversation at an
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  Economic Forum in Doha, Musk made two things clear.
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  First, he's not stepping down from Tesla anytime soon.
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  Second, he's backing away from big political donations, at
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  least for now. Said he thinks he's done enough
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  on that front, referring to the nearly $300 million he gave to
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  support Donald Trump's 2024 campaign and related efforts.
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  But he left the door open for future contributions, saying
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  he'd donate again if he felt there was a reason.
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  Also explained why he's sticking with Tesla.
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  The answer is control. Musk says he wants to maintain
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  about 25% of the company's voting power.
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  That level, According to him, gives him just enough influence
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  to guide the company without owning A majority.
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  For investors, that's a clear signal he's not going anywhere
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  unless his influence is threatened.
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  Now the stock responded quickly, rising slightly after his
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  comments. And Tesla shares have taken a
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  hit this year, losing about 20% of their value.
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  Investors have been uneasy because Tesla's car deliveries
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  fell 13% last quarter, the steepest decline since 2020.
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  Fewer deliveries mean less revenue and less confidence from
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  buyers. Some of that drop in sales may
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  have tied Musk's political leanings to the right in his
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  political profile. And in the past few months,
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  Tesla showrooms in cities like Berlin and Chicago saw protests
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  from people upset with his connection to Trump's government
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  reforms. In Europe, consumer groups are
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  encouraging buyers to pick local brands over Tesla.
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  Musk admitted that the backlash actually hurt.
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  His decision to step back from politics may be less about
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  ideology and more about protecting Tesla's brand.
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  Political spending created public tension.
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  Republican insiders say losing Musk as a donor will hurt, but
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  they'll adjust. White House officials still
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  believe Musk will support Trump behind the scenes.
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  But for now, he's choosing business stability over
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  political headlines and stepping back now.
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  This also effects other muscle adventures.
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  At the same event, he mentioned a possible public listing for
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  Sterling. This is a satellite Internet
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  company made by SpaceX. Once its cash flow stabilizes,
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  an IPO could actually happen. That would open the door for
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  regular investors to buy shares in one of Musk's most ambitious
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  businesses. He also gave an update on XAI,
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  his artificial intelligence company spun out from Tesla.
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  He said the company is scaling up a huge supercomputer called
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  Colossus to power new AI features in Tesla cars.
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  That's supposed to reduce lag and help with self driving and
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  voice commands. For now, Tesla's strategy
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  remains rooted in two areas, AI and robotics.
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  Musk sees these as the future of the company.
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  That's why he's holding out of control.
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  He wants freedom to pursue these long term ideas, even if they
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  don't immediately boost profits. At the same time, Tesla's still
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  under pressure to stay competitive on price.
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  Earlier this month, it launched a new Model Y for $44,990.00 in
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  the US. After tax credits, the price
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  drops to $37,490.00, which helped boost demand in a key
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  segment. Internal data shows orders for
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  the new version came in 18% above forecast.
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  Still, Musk's popularity is divided.
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  Our Reuters poll from May shows that 58% of Americans view him
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  unfavorably. But among Republicans, his
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  favorability is very strong, around 70%.
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  Among Democrats, it's just 18%. The political divide is another
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  reason Tesla sales have become unpredictable.
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  Inside the company, questions remain about leadership.
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  Stability Board chair Robin Deadholm denied reports that
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  Tesla was looking for a new CEO. But many investors are still
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  uneasy. Key executives in software and
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  manufacturing have left the company, and Tesla's valuation
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  depends heavily on Musk's personal vision, robotaxis, AI
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  and humanoid robots. The customers rely on the
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  company for long term support. Charging networks updates resale
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  value, and when Musk is focused, those systems improve.
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  When he's distracted, they stall.
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  His renewed five year commitment could offer some stability.
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  It also matters politically. Musk's retreat from campaign
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  financing could slightly shift the money dynamics in the 2024
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  election. He's been the GOP's biggest
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  single donor. Without him, they'll need to
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  raise funds elsewhere. That shift could change how
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  issues like EV tax credits or manufacturing subsidies get
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  debated. Looking ahead, Tesla has to
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  prove itself once again. Musk's goals are clear though.
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  Get deliveries growing again, keep profit margins solid, and
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  launch a working robo taxi service this summer.
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  If he can do all three, his five year promise actually means
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  something. If not, investors may begin to
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  doubt whether one person can lead multiple futuristic
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  companies while steering a car company through real world
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  competition. Musk says he's staying.
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  Now he has to show up. I want to say thank you so much
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  for tuning into the show today. I really do appreciate your
• 7:12
  support. If you could take a second and
• 7:14
  hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
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  platform that you're listening on right now, I greatly
• 7:20
  appreciate it. It helps out the show
• 7:21
  tremendously and you'll never miss an episode.
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  And each episode is about 10 minutes or less to get you
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  caught up quickly. And please, if you want to
• 7:30
  support the show even more, go to Atreoncom Stage Zero.
• 7:36
  And please take care of yourselves and each other.
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  And I'll see you tomorrow.