Overnight, Musk gained an additional $56 billion (approximately RMB 400 billion) in revenue.
On the early morning of June 14th, Tesla held its 2024 shareholder meeting at its Texas headquarters in the United States. Tesla's founder and CEO Elon Musk and chairman Robyn Denholm attended and answered questions from shareholders.
At this shareholder meeting, Tesla released a series of new business developments including new energy vehicles, power batteries, autonomous driving, and humanoid robots. Meanwhile, Tesla shareholders support Musk's $56 billion compensation plan and the relocation of the company's registered address to Texas. After the opening on June 14th, Tesla's stock price rose and fell, closing at $178.01 per share, a decrease of 2.44%.
About Money
$56 billion enters Musk's waist bag
"I just want to say to you, I love you! Among the many listed companies, we have the largest shareholder base, which is simply unbelievable. We are not only opening a new chapter for Tesla, but also jointly writing an unprecedented new book." With the applause of shareholders, Musk spoke confidently.
Musk's good mood is not without reason. Tesla's investors have just voted in favor of Musk's $56 billion compensation plan as CEO and in favor of relocating the company's registered address to Texas. In fact, Musk posted on his X platform the night before, announcing the outcome and stating that the two resolutions were being "passed with a significant advantage.".
Musk's exorbitant salary has gone through ups and downs. Tesla provided Musk with the largest compensation plan in the history of a listed company in 2018. Public information shows that Musk has not received any cash salary from Tesla since 2019, and he ultimately led Tesla step by step to achieve business goals.
However, Tesla's minority shareholder Richard Tornetta is dissatisfied with this and has filed a lawsuit. In November 2022, the Tesla shareholder lawsuit against Musk for $56 billion in compensation was heard in a Delaware court in the United States. On January 30, 2024, a judge of the Delaware Court of Justice ruled that Musk's compensation plan was invalid because Tesla's board of directors failed to prove that the compensation plan was fair. After the verdict was made public, Musk called on the X platform to "never register a company in Delaware.".
It is noteworthy that in addition to Tesla China executives Zhu Xiaotong, Tao Lin, and others who voted for Tesla, Tesla China's official account recently released a message stating, "Along the way, Elon Musk has led Tesla from a loss making company to a world changing company. He has created over 735 billion US dollars (approximately 5.3 trillion RMB) in huge value for Tesla shareholders. Musk has fulfilled his promise, and now it is time for us to fulfill it. Tesla shareholders, please give us your valuable vote."
At the voting session of this shareholder meeting, shareholders approved all five proposals proposed by Tesla, including the compensation plan proposed and received by Tesla to shareholders in 2018, and Tesla's proposal to relocate the company's registered address from Delaware to Texas.
About cars
If Model Y drops below $20000
For Tesla's main source of profit, electric vehicles, Musk emphasized the crucial role of cost in market demand. He pointed out that if the selling price of Tesla Model Y can be reduced to below $20000, its annual sales are expected to exceed 5 million units. "We must ensure that products are affordable for people, which is crucial," Musk said.
Tesla announced on June 13th that it is expected to increase the sales price of its Tesla Model 3 model in European countries from July 1, 2024, in response to the European Commission's recent imposition of tariffs on electric vehicles in China. Tesla released a statement on its European website stating, "We expect that from July 1, 2024, we will be required to increase the pricing of the Model 3 car due to the possibility of additional import tariffs on electric vehicles produced in China and sold in the European Union." However, Tesla did not disclose how much it plans to increase the selling price of the Model 3.
According to sources from Tesla, some of the Tesla electric vehicles currently sold in the EU market are produced by Tesla's Shanghai super factory, while others are produced by Tesla's German factory.
At the shareholder meeting, Musk also mentioned that Tesla's battery life is getting longer and the company's cars are becoming cheaper. Tesla's 4680 battery costs are higher than suppliers, but it is expected to achieve cost balancing by the end of 2024. He pointed out that in 2023, Tesla remains firmly at the top of the electric vehicle market, with a record production of 1300 electric pickup trucks per week. Musk called Tesla's redesigned Model 3 "a truly outstanding car.". He predicts that the Model Y model will once again win the global sales championship in 2024.
Regarding Tesla's future product line, Musk pointed out that although some projects may seem mundane at the beginning, in the long run, these projects are expected to change the rules of the game. Musk said that despite mixed reviews from the outside world, Cybertruck is undoubtedly a transportation vehicle that can cross age barriers and resonate with people, even children are no exception. Musk also revealed that he officially approved Tesla's production plan for the electric truck Semi last week. Tesla Semi will bring substantial value to the company as it can save operators significant costs and improve operational efficiency.
About humanoid robots
Potential market value
Up to $25 trillion
Regarding the latest progress of the humanoid robot Optimus Prime project, Musk introduced that Tesla plans to achieve limited production of Optimus Prime robots by 2025. "By the end of next year, we will have thousands of Optimus Prime robots working in various positions at Tesla."
Musk revealed key improvements to the Optimus Prime robot, including upcoming updates that will give this humanoid robot up to 22 degrees of freedom in hand function. In Musk's view, Optimus Prime should be able to play the piano with such a hand. "I firmly believe that the potential market value of Optimus Prime is as high as $25 trillion. To achieve this goal, we need to put in tremendous effort and unremitting work, but I firmly believe that we are moving rapidly and steadfastly on this path."
"Tesla leads Meta, Google, and OpenAI in the field of real-world artificial intelligence," Musk said, stating that Tesla is already ahead of other companies in the field of real-world artificial intelligence. Musk announced that Tesla has completed the hardware 5 design called "AI 5". He revealed that Hardware 4 has improved performance by 3 to 8 times compared to Hardware 3, and Hardware 5 has improved performance by 10 times compared to Hardware 4. Hardware 5 is expected to be officially launched by the end of 2025.
About charging networks
An additional $500 million will be invested this year
"Tesla has produced over 6 million electric vehicles and is expected to exceed 7 million by the end of the year. Tesla's Fremont factory has become the highest production factory in North America and has broken historical records," Musk said.
Regarding the supercharging network, "Tesla's supercharging network is accelerating its expansion. In the second half of this year, the deployment of the supercharging network will surpass the entire industry, with an expected investment of $500 million." Musk said that Tesla's supercharging network is willing to provide assistance to any fuel car company planning to transform into an electric vehicle. Through exclusive adapters, their electric vehicles can use Tesla's supercharging network for recharging.
In terms of computing power, Musk stated that when the size of Tesla's fleet exceeds 100 million vehicles, if each vehicle has one kilowatt of efficient reasoning and computing power, then Tesla has 100 gigawatts of computing power. Tesla electric vehicles do not run for about 100 hours per week, which means they have 100 hours of 100 gigawatts of computing power per week, and Tesla will be able to utilize such massive computing resources.
"For Tesla, this will have significant implications in the future. Currently, no one has truly considered this, but I believe it is indeed very important," Musk said.