"Shut up, Dan": Musk takes dim view of Tesla-xAI merger idea

Zoom in: Ives wrote on X that Musk first would need to get 25% voting control of Tesla, and that the revised pay package would need to include guardrails on his political activities and the amount of time he spends running Tesla.

• Ives also tells Axios that the combined company would need to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion to insulate Tesla's balance sheet from xAI's massive cash burn.
• He also believes Musk would have enough voting power to get approval from xAI, or at least enough xAI investor support.

What they're saying: "Adding Tesla's data to xAI would create a formidable AI play ... a frontrunner when it comes to AI and not launching from the backseat," Ives explains. "There obviously are some concerns, but the benefits far outweigh the risks."

• Musk, in an X reply to Ives, simply said: "Shut up, Dan."

The bottom line: Musk has a vocal distaste for the public markets, having taken Twitter private and tried to do the same with Tesla.

• So it would be odd for him to open xAI to such scrutiny — unless he ultimately agrees with Ives that it's his best path for beating rival Sam Altman.