Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has been in the spotlight lately after reports surfaced that Tesla may be considering licensing xAI’s technology for its driver-assistance software and full self-driving technology. According to The Wall Street Journal, there were talks of a potential revenue-sharing agreement between the two companies. However, Musk quickly denied these reports, stating that Tesla has not licensed anything from xAI and that the report is inaccurate.
The proposed arrangement, as described to investors, involved xAI supporting the development of various features for Tesla, including a voice assistant in its electric cars and software for its humanoid robot Optimus. The terms of any revenue-sharing agreement were said to depend on how extensively Tesla relied on xAI’s technology. Musk’s denial of these reports suggests that there may not have been any concrete discussions regarding such an agreement between the two companies.
While xAI has not been reachable for comment, Musk has previously stated that the startup could be beneficial in advancing full self-driving capabilities and in building a new data center for Tesla. There are also opportunities to integrate xAI’s chatbot, Grok, with Tesla’s software. Musk’s interest in xAI has raised concerns that he may allocate resources from Tesla to the AI company, but he has maintained that xAI could play a role in enhancing Tesla’s technology.
In July, Musk announced that he and the Tesla board would discuss a potential $5 billion investment in xAI. This further fueled speculation about the relationship between the two companies and the potential impact of xAI’s technology on Tesla’s products. Despite the rumors of a revenue-sharing agreement, Musk’s latest statement seems to indicate that there may not be any immediate plans for such a partnership between xAI and Tesla. Overall, the future of xAI’s collaboration with Tesla remains uncertain as both companies continue to explore opportunities for innovation in artificial intelligence and autonomous driving technology.