Tesla Invests $2 Billion in Musk's xAI to Accelerate AI and Robotics Push

On January 29, Tesla announced a $2 billion investment in xAI, the artificial intelligence company led by Elon Musk, as part of its broader $20 billion capital expenditure plan for 2024. This move signals a strategic shift for Tesla—away from expanding traditional electric vehicle production capacity and toward cutting-edge areas such as AI and humanoid robotics. The investment has sparked mixed reactions in the market: supporters argue that xAI’s AI technology is crucial for Tesla projects like the Optimus robot, while critics warn of potential conflicts of interest. However, under the prevailing industry model of “mutual investment and collaborative gains”—exemplified by NVIDIA’s investment in OpenAI, which boosted its own chip sales—such partnerships have already gained acceptance in capital markets. Whether the Tesla-xAI alliance will succeed remains to be seen.