Musk Denies xAI-Tesla Revenue-Sharing Deal for AI Tech

Elon Musk has shot down a report claiming his AI startup xAI was in talks to share Tesla’s future revenue in exchange for AI tech. This comes as Tesla continues to push the boundaries of autonomous driving.

According to a Reuters article, Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to refute a Wall Street Journal story about the alleged deal.

The rumored deal

The WSJ reported that Tesla would:

• License xAI’s AI models for its driver-assistance and full self-driving (FSD) tech
• Share some revenue with xAI
• Use xAI to develop other features like in-car voice assistants

But Musk wasn’t having it. He said the report was “not accurate” and that while Tesla has “learned a lot” from xAI engineers, there’s “no need to license anything.”

xAI and Tesla’s relationship

Musk launched xAI in 2023 to compete with OpenAI. There’ve been concerns he might divert Tesla resources to the AI company.

He’s previously said xAI could help with:

• Advancing full self-driving
• Building Tesla’s new data center
• Possibly integrating the Grok chatbot with Tesla software

The bigger picture

This comes as Tesla continues pushing the envelope on autonomous driving tech. Their FSD system is controversial but ambitious.

The idea of Tesla tapping xAI’s resources for FSD isn’t far-fetched. But for now, Musk insists there’s no formal deal in place.

EVXL’s Take

This news highlights the growing importance of AI in the EV world, especially for autonomous driving. While there’s no official xAI-Tesla deal, the potential is clear. As we’ve seen in recent Tesla articles, the company is constantly innovating. Whether through internal R&D or potential partnerships, AI will likely play a huge role in Tesla’s future. It’s an exciting time for EV tech!

What do you think about the potential of AI in electric vehicles? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Photo courtesy of Tesla