Musk had intense friction with JPMorgan Chase due to some business disputes. After 2016, Musk's Tesla and SpaceX almost cut off business dealings with Xiaomo, and Xiaomo stubbornly stopped seeking any business from Musk.
However, things have already turned around this year. In March, Musk rarely attended JPMorgan's first technology conference and stood with CEO Jamie Dimon, which was seen as a precursor to the breaking of the relationship between the two sides.
The latest report points out that Musk is establishing a more harmonious relationship with Damon, and Damon also hopes that Xiaomo can try to resume business dealings with Musk. JPMorgan Chase also hired renowned wealth manager Eric Gray in May this year to provide consulting services specifically for billionaires, including Musk.
Win Win
In 2016, Musk sought JPMorgan Chase to provide car loan business for Tesla's electric vehicles, but due to the hesitation of the small motorcycle side, Musk was furious. He threatened to cancel Tesla's business at Xiaomo, and then Damon intervened and made it clear to Musk that JPMorgan Chase would not be in vain.
In 2021, Morgan Stanley filed a lawsuit against Tesla, demanding compensation of $162 million. Xiaomo claimed that Tesla owed him a commission to facilitate the transaction in 2014, but Tesla countered that this was Xiaomo's retaliatory measure.
In January 2023, Musk made it clear during his testimony that Tesla's relationship with JPMorgan was very negative.
In November 2023, Damon suddenly praised Musk as a talented person who had made incredible contributions to humanity. In January of this year, Musk liked Damon's comments on Trump on X.
According to sources, Musk is now making as many allies as possible on Wall Street and capital markets. On the one hand, he is about to face Tesla's historic salary package vote, but most institutional investors have rejected Musk's offer of $47 billion in compensation.
On the other hand, Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI is also actively seeking investors. In last month's Series B investment, xAI received a $6 billion injection, which raised its market value to $18 billion in less than a year. Various factors have made Musk urgently need to find more support in the capital market.
For Xiaomo, Musk's many powerful companies are also the places that attract various types of capital. Most banks hope to maintain a good relationship with Musk in order to obtain cooperation opportunities for Musk's subsidiaries, such as SpaceX, in future public offerings.
The reconciliation between the two sides is logical in this context, but it remains to be seen whether Xiaomo can gain more business from Musk after breaking the ice. The investment banks that have served as Tesla's main advisors have always been Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, while JPMorgan Chase has never had such an opportunity.