Elon Musk Says He Needs $1 Trillion To Control Tesla’s ‘robot Army’

Well, that’s not very subtle.

In an net telephone past night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he needs much power complete Tesla, arsenic good arsenic a salary package that could beryllium worthy astir $1 trillion, successful speech for building a “robot army.” Otherwise, he could get ousted arsenic CEO, and then, well, who would power nan army?

In a sense, Musk is asking Tesla’s shareholders to ballot to o.k. an tremendous payday to insure that he — and he unsocial — remains successful power of nan company’s legions of humanoid robots (that do not exist). It was a very unusual measurement to seduce investors to ballot successful favour of nan connection that’s been put guardant by nan company’s board. And it amounted to an unsubtle threat that Musk could simply prime up his shot and spell play location else.

“My basal interest pinch regard to really overmuch voting power I person successful Tesla is, if I spell up and build this tremendous robot army, can I conscionable beryllium ousted astatine immoderate constituent successful nan future?” Musk said. “That’s my biggest concern.”

“If I spell up and build this tremendous robot army, can I conscionable beryllium ousted astatine immoderate constituent successful nan future?”

Under nan projected salary package, Musk would request to meet definite milestones successful bid to person that eye-popping compensation, specified arsenic producing 1 cardinal robotaxis and 1 cardinal humanoid robots, arsenic good arsenic summation Tesla’s valuation by trillions of dollars. Musk, already nan world’s richest man, would ascend to caller heights of financial untouchability if he is capable to execute these goals. Shareholders are expected to o.k. nan package during nan company’s yearly shareholder gathering connected November 7th.

Musk’s fears of being kicked retired of Tesla conflict pinch his erstwhile threats to simply time off nan institution if nan salary package is not approved. It seems outlandish that Tesla’s committee would ever see ousting Musk, particularly aft they sat connected their hands passim nan twelvemonth arsenic Musk’s hard-charging efforts for nan Trump management as caput of DOGE led to a nationwide protestation movement against Tesla and a melodramatic driblet successful nan company’s sales. If moonlighting arsenic Trump’s hatchet man couldn’t get Musk fired, it’s difficult to ideate what would.

Musk besides tried a different maneuver during nan net call: questioning whether nan money was moreover that important to him. “It’s called compensation. But it’s not for illustration I’m going to spell walk nan money,” Musk said. “It’s just, if we build this robot army, do I person astatine slightest a beardown influence over that robot army? Not control, but a beardown influence.”

It wasn’t truthful agelong agone that Musk was sounding nan informing astir AI’s “threat to humanity.” He famously compared activity connected AI to “summoning nan demon,” and warned clip and clip again that nan exertion poses an existential consequence to humanity. And he urged governments to commencement regulating AI before it was excessively late.

Now he is posing a situation to Tesla shareholders: Give maine nan power, aliases else. This coming from a feline who threw not 1 but two Nazi salutes astatine Donald Trump’s inauguration. Whose push to destruct backing for humanitarian programs done USAID could lead to the deaths of millions of group by 2030, according to a caller study. Who claims to beryllium a free reside absolutist while welcoming back white supremacists and predetermination deniers to his societal media platform. And who built a chatbot that declared itself to beryllium “MechaHitler.”

“It’s called compensation. But it’s not for illustration I’m going to spell walk nan money.”

Of course, Tesla’s Optimus robots are a agelong measurement from posing immoderate benignant of threat to society. They struggled to hand retired popcorn astatine nan company’s diner successful Los Angeles. And they were revealed to beryllium under distant control astatine Tesla’s Cybercab arena past year. In nan call, Musk acknowledged that it was difficult to build a robot manus that was arsenic dexterous arsenic a quality one.

The remainder was nan normal Musk histrionics: Optimus will beryllium Tesla’s “biggest merchandise of each time”; robot surgeons are a possibility; and nan robot is for illustration “an infinite money glitch” for Tesla, insofar arsenic really overmuch gross it will generate.

Musk said that Tesla will unveil “Optimus V3” during nan first 4th of adjacent year. The 4th type will beryllium nan 1 that scales into nan tens of thousands of units, he added. “It’ll look like a personification successful a robot suit, which is really we started disconnected pinch Optimus,” he quipped. “It’ll look truthful existent that you’ll request to flick it, I think, to judge that it’s really a robot.”

Proxy-advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis are advising Tesla shareholders to reason Musk’s salary package, prompting nan petulant CEO to telephone nan firms “corporate terrorists.” If past is prologue, shareholders are apt to o.k. nan board’s connection to gift Musk much power complete nan institution by a wide margin. And if his predictions astir Optimus travel to pass, we’ll spot what nan world’s first trillionaire does pinch his caller army.