While Musk insisted on continuing to focus on Tesla and expressed determination to lead the company for several years to come, he also indicated that he would "let go" and not make significant political investments like he did during past U.S. elections.

Tesla's investors can breathe a sigh of relief, but President Trump and the Republican Party will lose a major "benefactor."

Musk also stated that Robotaxi cars will hit the streets in Austin, Texas, headquarters next month, and xAI will build an AI factory and purchase AI chips.

Continue to Lead Tesla for at Least Five Years

On Tuesday, May 20th Eastern Time, participating remotely in the Qatar Economic Forum, Musk said that he plans to continue serving as Tesla CEO for at least the next five years, unless "I pass away," he will not abandon leadership of the company. "There is no doubt about this."

Musk emphasized that his desire to maintain control of Tesla was not motivated by money:

"It's not about money; it's about having reasonable control over the future of the company."

Musk criticized the Delaware judge who twice rejected his 2018 mega-compensation plan and reiterated that his desire for more Tesla shares was to maintain sufficient voting control to prevent being ousted by activist investors.

Commentators believe that Musk's statement comes at just the right time, as investors become increasingly concerned about his insufficient commitment to Tesla, especially after he led the Efficiency Department (DOGE) under Trump's administration earlier this year.

After Musk spoke, Tesla's stock price rose when trading opened on Tuesday. In early trading, it climbed to $354.57, reaching its highest intraday level since February 27th, rising more than 3.6% for the day. Investors welcomed Musk's determination to continue leading the company. Early in the day, Tesla retraced some of its gains, rising less than 2%. By midday, it approached its daily high, then retraced its gains again, closing up about 0.5%.

Downplay Sales Challenges Facing Tesla

Last year, Tesla recorded its first annual decline in vehicle sales in over a decade. At the beginning of this year, sales fell sharply by double digits in many European countries. However, Musk insisted on Tuesday that Tesla has "turned the corner."

When questioned about Tesla's continuous decline in sales in Europe, the main electric vehicle market, Musk admitted that Europe is the weakest region for the company's sales but claimed strong performance in other areas. He said:

"Our current sales are good. We don't expect any significant shortage of sales."

This optimistic statement starkly contrasts with market reality. As of Monday's close, Tesla's stock price has fallen about 15% year-to-date, reflecting investor concerns about increasing global competition faced by the company.

Political Enthusiasm "Cools Down" and Political Spending Will Be Greatly Reduced

Musk said on Tuesday that he would "greatly reduce" future political spending. When asked why, he simply replied:

"I think I've done enough."

He later added: "If I see a reason for political spending in the future, I'll do it. But currently, I don't think there is a reason." Commentators believe that this shift could be a heavy blow to Trump and the Republicans, who likely included Musk's generous contributions in their fundraising plans for the 2026 midterm elections. Historically, the party of the sitting U.S. president almost always loses House seats in midterm elections. Predictive markets give Trump's party only a one-in-five chance of maintaining control after 2026.

During last year's U.S. election, Musk donated approximately $250 million to various political groups, becoming the largest single donor in American electoral history. Most of his funds were used to support Trump.

Deny Damaging Tesla's Image and Some Violent Protesters Deserve Jail

After Trump took office, as Musk's position within the Republican Party grew, Tesla's showrooms and charging stations were attacked. On Tuesday, Musk said that he indeed viewed the protests against him as personal attacks, particularly those involving effigy hangings and death threats: "Opposing political positions is acceptable, but resorting to violence, hanging effigies, and death threats is unacceptable."

In response to criticism that his political activities have damaged Tesla's brand, Musk defended himself by saying that while the company lost some left-leaning consumers, it also gained right-wing consumers.

Musk harshly criticized the "massive violence" carried out by protesters against Tesla, believing that some protesters deserved jail time. He said:

"They stand on the wrong side of history, and this is evil behavior. Action must be taken against them, and some will go to prison; they deserve it."

Starlink May Go Public

In addition to Tesla, Musk also oversees SpaceX and owns the social media platform X and the neurotechnology startup Neuralink. On Tuesday, Musk hinted that his satellite internet service, Starlink, might go independent in the future: "Starlink may go public in the future."

This news may spark investor interest in new growth opportunities in Musk's business empire, especially as Tesla faces competitive pressures.

In general, these statements seem aimed at reassuring Tesla investors worried about his over-diversification, while also signaling a possible shift toward a more cautious stance in the political arena.

Robotaxi to Launch in Austin, Texas, in June, Without Human Drivers, Remote Monitoring by Employees

Musk also confirmed on Tuesday that Tesla will launch its self-driving taxi Robotaxi on the streets of Austin, Texas, by the end of June. After its debut in Austin, Tesla plans to roll out Robotaxi services in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Musk said that Tesla will initially deploy a Robotaxi service with about 10 vehicles in Austin. If everything goes smoothly and there are no accidents, it will quickly expand to thousands of vehicles. The service will use Model Y vehicles equipped with the upcoming intelligent assistance system FSD version FSD Unsupervised.

Musk said, "For us, the prudent approach is to start small, confirm everything is going well, and then scale up."

Musk promised that there will be no human safety drivers inside the car, stating that Tesla employees will remotely monitor the fleet, while hinting that the driving range of Model Y will be restricted. "We will closely monitor the operation of the cars, and the need for such monitoring will decrease as confidence grows."

xAI Will Continue Buying Chips from NVIDIA and AMD, Build a Factory for 1 Million GPUs

Musk estimated on Tuesday that both Tesla and xAI will continue purchasing chips from NVIDIA and AMD, and may also buy from other companies.

xAI has already installed 200,000 GPUs at the Colossus factory in Memphis, Tennessee. Musk said on Tuesday that xAI also plans to build a factory outside Memphis that can accommodate 1 million GPUs. He did not specify how many chips the company has already ordered or when they are expected to be installed.

Musk mentioned that a few years ago, he predicted that chips would become a bottleneck for AI development.

Regarding Tesla's AI progress, Musk said that Tesla's Dojo supercomputer in New York State has been used to train its Autopilot and Optimus robot systems.

Source: Wall Street Journal, download the APP for more articles.

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