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Did you hear? Elon Musk received his $1 trillion pay bundle. In fact you probably did, as a result of protection of that extremely anticipated vote is all over the place, together with right here at TechCrunch. However what does this truly imply?
Sure, that is about cash, nevertheless it’s extra about energy and management. You may recall that Musk repeatedly talked about the necessity to management Tesla and supplied up quite a lot of situations, together with one involving a robotic military, to argue for it.
And the stakes have been excessive; if he didn’t get that management, he threatened to depart. Shareholders merely couldn’t, didn’t need to think about Tesla with out Elon.
All of that cash, energy, and management will increase for Musk if Tesla reaches milestones primarily based on operations, adjusted revenue, and market capitalization. Each tranche, if the objective is reached, will ship 35.3 million shares to Musk. For example, the primary tranche milestone is a market capitalization of $2 trillion. At this time, Tesla’s market cap sits at about $1.5 trillion.
Tesla is a bizarre animal by which its share value usually has nothing to do with precise fundamentals. It’s common for Tesla’s inventory value to rise due to feedback Musk made throughout an earnings name even when its quarterly figures weren’t notably good. I’m positive that is extremely irritating for different automakers.
Which is why I’m extra serious about among the product and adjusted revenue targets tied to this bundle. Targets embody 20 million Tesla autos delivered, 10 million energetic Full Self-Driving subscriptions, 1 million robots delivered, and 1 million robotaxis in business operation inside 10 years. Scroll right down to the underside to take part in a survey concerning these targets.
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October 13-15, 2026
Musk used the shareholder assembly for greater than only a victory lap, though that vibe was definitely current. He made various forecasts and guarantees, together with that manufacturing of its Cybercab will start in April and that the corporate may have to construct a “gigantic” semiconductor fabrication plant. He additionally punted on the Roadster 2 once more, which was first revealed as a prototype car in 2017. A manufacturing model will now be proven on April 1, 2026 — yup, April Fools’ Day.
Reminder: That Grasp Plan 4, which was the centerpiece of Tesla’s pitch to shareholders to approve the $1 trillion pay bundle, is nonetheless woefully quick on particulars.
Slightly chicken
We’re engaged on a number of spicy gadgets, however nothing that’s prepared fairly but. Within the meantime, keep in mind our emails are all the time open for suggestions.
Obtained a tip for us? E-mail Kirsten Korosec at [email protected] or my Sign at kkorosec.07, or electronic mail Sean O’Kane at [email protected].
Offers!
Beta Applied sciences, the electrical aviation startup, pushed forward with its IPO regardless of the federal government shutdown because of some relaxed guidelines courtesy of the SEC. The corporate made its debut on the New York Inventory Trade with an outsized elevate of $1 billion.
And whereas the inventory value didn’t skyrocket in its first day of buying and selling, it didn’t fall both — which has occurred to a couple latest IPOs.
The Vermont-based firm priced shares in its IPO at $34, above its predicted vary of $27 to $33. Beta Applied sciences bought 29.9 million shares to boost $1 billion at a valuation of $7.4 billion. It closed up at $36 and even held that floor the next day. Shares have since fallen to about $31.
In fact, it is a lengthy recreation and Beta Applied sciences continues to be engaged on commercializing its aviation merchandise. Let’s see the place the corporate is at — and its share value — a 12 months from now.
Different offers that received my consideration this week …
Archer Aviation raised $650 million via a inventory providing for 81.25 million shares, funds that can help its $126 million acquisition of Hawthorne Airport, a strategically necessary airport in Los Angeles. Shareholders didn’t reply favorably and shares fell greater than 12.6% Friday.
Enjoyable reality: This airport, except for having a unbelievable restaurant, is in Elon Musk’s yard. The Tesla Design Studio and SpaceX are proper subsequent door, and the airport has been used for varied product launches, together with the Tesla Semi.
Evotrex, a startup growing a hybrid RV journey trailer with an built-in gasoline engine, has come out of stealth with $16 million in seed cash from Anker, in addition to Chinese language early-stage enterprise corporations Unity Ventures, Kylinhall Companions, and Imaginative and prescient Plus Capital.
Indian two-wheeler big TVS Motor bought its complete stake in ride-hailing firm Rapido for ₹2.88 billion (about $32 million) to Accel and Prosus’ funding unit, MIH Investments.
Lucid Motors’ majority proprietor — Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund — boosted the cap of a mortgage settlement from $750 million to round $2 billion, which supplies the corporate liquidity till 2027.
Rivian reported third-quarter earnings this week, and amid the monetary outcomes was a head scratcher. The corporate has spun off one other firm — this time it’s an industrial AI and robotics enterprise known as Thoughts Robotics. Keep in mind, earlier this 12 months Rivian spun off a micromobility firm known as Additionally. Thoughts Robotics has already raised a $115 million seed spherical, which was led by VC agency Eclipse. Jiten Behl, a companion at Eclipse who used to work at Rivian, is a serious backer of Additionally.
Notable reads and different tidbits
Bryant Walker Smith, an affiliate professor within the College of Regulation and (by courtesy) the College of Engineering on the College of South Carolina, has been a go-to knowledgeable and adviser to governments and security organizations round automated driving for years — notably round how it’s communicated with the general public. He launched a paper final month that I’d be remiss to not share right here. It’s known as “Self-Driving” Means Self-Driving.
Ford executives are mulling over whether or not to kill off the F-150 Lightning truck.
Lucid is within the midst of an government shake-up because it continues its seek for a everlasting CEO. The EV maker’s chief engineer Eric Bach is leaving the corporate after greater than a decade and Jeri Ford, who was VP of High quality, is retiring. TechCrunch additionally realized James Hawkins, who was VP of Engineering, can be now not with the corporate. In the meantime, Senior Vice President of Powertrain, Emad Dlala, is being elevated to supervise all of “Engineering and Digital.”
Luminar continues to wrestle. The corporate was not too long ago hit with an eviction discover for one among its Orlando, Florida, places of work.
Lyft had a constructive third quarter that included a revenue of $46.1 million. That’s excellent news contemplating it reported a lack of $12.4 million in the identical quarter final 12 months. Lyft additionally noticed ridership develop (15% year-over-year to 248.8 million) and income rise 11% to $1.69 billion in contrast with the identical year-ago interval.
Rivian posted its third-quarter earnings and whereas the corporate continues to be working at a loss, the income outcomes appeased Wall Avenue. The corporate’s income rose 78% year-over-year to $1.56 billion — and, hey, that’s not nothin’. But it surely additionally had a hefty Q3 lack of $1.17 billion, a 6% rise from the lack of $1.1 billion it reported a 12 months earlier.
Waymo plans to launch a robotaxi service in Detroit, Las Vegas, and San Diego. If it looks like Waymo is ramping up rapidly, you’d be appropriate. Don’t neglect, final month at TechCrunch Disrupt, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana mentioned that by the top of 2026, “you should expect us to be offering 1 million trips per week.” Waymo hasn’t shared that weekly quantity since April, when it was greater than 250,000 journeys per week.
Yet another factor …
It’s time for a ballot! Join the e-newsletter to take part. Have a query you need us to ask? E-mail me at [email protected].
