Tesla shareholders are preparing for a pivotal vote that could determine how closely Elon Musk's ventures intertwine. On November 6, investors will decide whether to let the electric vehicle maker invest directly in Musk's artificial intelligence startup, xAI -- a proposal pitched as a way to accelerate Tesla's transition into an AI, robotics, and energy powerhouse.
The vote comes at a critical juncture for Tesla, which is trying to reassure Wall Street after a stretch of weakening EV sales and a stumbling rollout of its long-promised robotaxi program. Management has increasingly emphasized AI as the company's true growth engine, with ambitions centered on Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology and Optimus, its humanoid robot.
The xAI proposal, put forward by Florida shareholder Stephen Hawk, who owns $2,000 worth of Tesla stock, was included in Tesla's latest proxy statement. In his supporting statement, Hawk argued that Tesla's integration of Grok -- xAI's chatbot into its vehicles demonstrates the clear upside of collaboration.
"As Tesla pivots toward AI-driven technologies, including Full Self-Driving and robotics, a strategic investment in xAI would secure access to advanced AI capabilities, enhance product innovation, and drive shareholder value," he wrote.
Notably, the Tesla board has taken a neutral stance, a rare departure from its usual practice of advising against shareholder-led proposals. If approved, Tesla would become the second of Musk's companies to back xAI financially. SpaceX, his aerospace firm, has already pledged $2 billion as part of a broader $5 billion equity raise. That heavy lift by SpaceX has fueled speculation that xAI is struggling to draw outside investors -- raising questions about whether Tesla shareholders might end up subsidizing another Musk-led venture.
Musk also folded X, the company formerly known as Twitter, into xAI earlier this year, cementing his bet on the startup as the centerpiece of his AI empire.
Some investors, however, see risks of conflict. Musk has long described Tesla as an AI company in its own right, and a group of shareholders sued him last year for launching a rival AI firm. Though that case was dismissed, it underscored the lingering unease that Musk's attention could be split. In response, Musk has argued that he needs more direct control of Tesla to fully lead its AI future and avoid distractions posed by xAI.
That argument dovetails with another high-stakes item on the ballot: a Tesla-backed, 10-year compensation plan for Musk that could be worth up to $1 trillion. The package, designed to give Musk more than 25% ownership of the company, would tie his payout to extreme growth targets, including lifting Tesla's market capitalization from about $1 trillion today to more than $8 trillion.
Tesla is still appealing a Delaware court's decision earlier this year to strike down Musk's prior $56 billion pay package, with the judge ruling that it was unfairly structured. The new $1 trillion plan is being positioned not just as a replacement but as a mechanism to lock Musk's focus squarely on Tesla at a time when he is stretched across multiple ventures.
"The point of this package is to keep Musk engaged," Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, told TechCrunch. He noted that Tesla cannot realistically reach an $8 trillion valuation on FSD and robotaxis alone.
"To get to those numbers, we need things to happen that are inconceivable right now. And one of them is humanoid robots everywhere; that's probably the biggest lever."
Munster added that xAI could play a decisive role in helping Tesla get there -- not only by providing compute and advanced AI resources, but also by fueling investor excitement around the integration of the two companies.
"Just the excitement around xAI and Tesla together is going to move Tesla's valuation higher," he said.
The shareholder meeting is scheduled for November 6 at 3 p.m. Central Time at Tesla's Gigafactory Texas, with a livestream planned. With Tesla facing pressure from slowing EV demand, rising competition in China, and questions about Musk's bandwidth, the votes on xAI and Musk's $1 trillion package will test how much faith investors still have in his vision -- and how far they are willing to go to keep him focused on Tesla's future.