July 25, 2024 – 8:16 AM PDT
(Reuters) – Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday he will discuss a $5 billion investment in artificial intelligence startup xAI, as the electric-vehicle maker looks to double down on efforts to expedite the development of its robotaxi and self-driving products.
The ambitious self-driving project has faced numerous technical and legal hurdles in recent years, and the automaker is now bolstering its AI infrastructure to train models for Tesla’s autonomous technology.
“Looks like the public is in favor. Will discuss with Tesla board,” Musk said in a post on X after a poll on the social media platform showed nearly 68% of respondents said the company should invest in xAI, the Grok chatbot developer.
Earlier this week, during Tesla’s earnings conference call, Musk said xAI would be “helpful in advancing full self-driving and in building up the new Tesla data center,” adding that there are opportunities to integrate Grok with Tesla’s software.
Tesla’s second-quarter automotive gross margin and profit fell short of Wall Street estimates on Tuesday as the company cut prices and offered incentives to boost sales.
Musk, the world’s richest person, launched xAI last year, in a bid to compete with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, its backer Microsoft and Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google.
The startup raised $6 billion in a series B funding in May, fetching a post-money valuation of $24 billion. Its investors include Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital.
Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli