agencies
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 04:00 PM
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, at the annual meeting of the company’s shareholders for the current year, spoke about several aspects regarding the latest recent developments, according to CNBC.
During the meeting, Musk predicted that the US economy would gather growth momentum over the next 12 months, and he also pledged that Tesla would begin delivering electric Cybertruck trucks later this year.
And about his acquisition of Twitter for $ 44 billion, Musk said that the deal was a distraction for a short period, and it was necessary to do something like open-heart surgery to ensure the continuity of the social network, expressing his enthusiasm for Linda Iacarino’s joining as CEO of the company.
An attendee asked Musk if he would reconsider Tesla’s position on traditional advertising, and Musk said the company relies on word of mouth, influencer marketing and other unconventional marketing and advertising to promote information about its products and best features. He commented, “We’ll try a few ads and see how it goes.”
Musk also emphasized that Tesla checks supply chains for cobalt metal and ensures that the company’s suppliers do not have any child labor.
Musk stated that cobalt is a vital component in the production of batteries for electric cars produced by the two companies, and it is also used in other energy-related projects.
Musk bragged about Tesla’s energy storage product projects and said growth in “big battery” sales was faster than growth in the company’s core auto segment.
He also expressed optimism about the development of a humanoid robot at Tesla referred to as Optimus. Musk said Optimus will be able to run on the software and computer the company uses to support the advanced driver assistance systems in its cars.
Distraction fears
Since the electric car maker’s last annual meeting in August 2022, Tesla’s largest retail shareholder, Liu Guan, has blasted Musk for selling billions of dollars worth of his Tesla stake to fund the $44 billion purchase of Twitter.
Kojoan, the billionaire founder of IT services company SHI International, called on the company’s board of directors to “do shock therapy to revive share prices”, namely by buying back shares late last year.
Some Tesla institutional investors have blamed Musk for being too distracted after his Twitter acquisition, but Musk said at this year’s shareholder meeting that he expects to spend less time on Twitter than he has in the past six months.
An attendee asked Musk about rumors that he was considering stepping down from Tesla, to which he replied, “It’s not like that.”
He added, “I think Tesla will play an important role in artificial intelligence and I think I need to supervise that to make sure how good it is.”
Musk claimed that Tesla has “by far the most advanced real-world artificial intelligence” of all the tech companies right now.
