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Did you hear? Elon Musk got his $1 trillion pay package. Of course you did, because coverage of that highly anticipated vote is everywhere, including here at TechCrunch. But what does this actually mean?
Yes, this is about money, but it’s more about power and control. You might recall that Musk repeatedly talked about the need to control Tesla and offered up a variety of scenarios, including one involving a robot army, to argue for it.
And the stakes were high; if he didn’t get that control, he threatened to leave. Shareholders simply could not, did not want to imagine Tesla without Elon.
All of that money, power, and control increases for Musk if Tesla reaches milestones based on operations, adjusted profit, and market capitalization. Every tranche, if the goal is reached, will deliver 35.3 million shares to Musk. For instance, the first tranche milestone is a market capitalization of $2 trillion. Today, Tesla’s market cap sits at about $1.5 trillion.
Tesla is a weird animal in which its share price often has nothing to do with actual fundamentals. It’s not unusual for Tesla’s stock price to rise because of comments Musk made during an earnings call even if its quarterly figures weren’t particularly good. I’m sure this is incredibly frustrating for other automakers.
Which is why I am more interested in some of the product and adjusted profit goals tied to this package. Goals include 20 million Tesla vehicles delivered, 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions, 1 million robots delivered, and 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation within 10 years. Scroll down to the bottom to participate in a survey regarding these goals.
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October 13-15, 2026
Musk used the shareholder meeting for more than just a victory lap, although that vibe was certainly present. He made a number of forecasts and promises, including that production of its Cybercab will begin in April and that the company might need to build a “gigantic” semiconductor fabrication plant. He also punted on the Roadster 2 again, which was first revealed as a prototype vehicle in 2017. A production version will now be shown on April 1, 2026 — yup, April Fools’ Day.
Reminder: That Master Plan 4, which was the centerpiece of Tesla’s pitch to shareholders to approve the $1 trillion pay package, is still woefully short on details.
A little bird
We’re working on a few spicy items, but nothing that is ready quite yet. In the meantime, remember our emails are always open for tips.
Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.
Deals!
Beta Technologies, the electric aviation startup, pushed ahead with its IPO despite the government shutdown thanks to some relaxed rules courtesy of the SEC. The company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange with an outsized raise of $1 billion.
And while the stock price didn’t skyrocket in its first day of trading, it didn’t fall either — which has happened to a few recent IPOs.
The Vermont-based company priced shares in its IPO at $34, above its predicted range of $27 to $33. Beta Technologies sold 29.9 million shares to raise $1 billion at a valuation of $7.4 billion. It closed up at $36 and even held that ground the following day. Shares have since fallen to about $31.
Of course, this is a long game and Beta Technologies is still working on commercializing its aviation products. Let’s see where the company is at — and its share price — a year from now.
Other deals that got my attention this week …
Archer Aviation raised $650 million through a stock offering for 81.25 million shares, funds that will support its $126 million acquisition of Hawthorne Airport, a strategically important airport in Los Angeles. Shareholders didn’t respond favorably and shares fell more than 12.6% Friday.
Fun fact: This airport, aside from having a fantastic restaurant, is in Elon Musk’s backyard. The Tesla Design Studio and SpaceX are right next door, and the airport has been used for various product launches, including the Tesla Semi.
Evotrex, a startup developing a hybrid RV travel trailer with an integrated gas engine, has come out of stealth with $16 million in seed money from Anker, as well as Chinese early-stage venture firms Unity Ventures, Kylinhall Partners, and Vision Plus Capital.
Indian two-wheeler giant TVS Motor sold its entire stake in ride-hailing company Rapido for ₹2.88 billion (about $32 million) to Accel and Prosus’ investment unit, MIH Investments.
Lucid Motors’ majority owner — Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund — boosted the cap of a loan agreement from $750 million to around $2 billion, which provides the company liquidity until 2027.
Rivian reported third-quarter earnings this week, and amid the financial results was a head scratcher. The company has spun off another company — this time it is an industrial AI and robotics venture called Mind Robotics. Remember, earlier this year Rivian spun off a micromobility company called Also. Mind Robotics has already raised a $115 million seed round, which was led by VC firm Eclipse. Jiten Behl, a partner at Eclipse who used to work at Rivian, is a major backer of Also.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Bryant Walker Smith, an associate professor in the School of Law and (by courtesy) the School of Engineering at the University of South Carolina, has been a go-to expert and adviser to governments and safety organizations around automated driving for years — particularly around how it is communicated with the public. He released a paper last month that I would be remiss not to share here. It’s called “Self-Driving” Means Self-Driving.
Ford executives are mulling over whether to kill off the F-150 Lightning truck.
Lucid is in the midst of an executive shake-up as it continues its search for a permanent CEO. The EV maker’s chief engineer Eric Bach is leaving the company after more than a decade and Jeri Ford, who was VP of Quality, is retiring. TechCrunch also learned James Hawkins, who was VP of Engineering, is also no longer with the company. Meanwhile, Senior Vice President of Powertrain, Emad Dlala, is being elevated to oversee all of “Engineering and Digital.”
Luminar continues to struggle. The company was recently hit with an eviction notice for one of its Orlando, Florida, offices.
Lyft had a positive third quarter that included a profit of $46.1 million. That’s good news considering it reported a loss of $12.4 million in the same quarter last year. Lyft also saw ridership grow (15% year-over-year to 248.8 million) and revenue rise 11% to $1.69 billion compared with the same year-ago period.
Rivian posted its third-quarter earnings and while the company is still operating at a loss, the revenue results appeased Wall Street. The company’s revenue rose 78% year-over-year to $1.56 billion — and, hey, that’s not nothin’. But it also had a hefty Q3 loss of $1.17 billion, a 6% rise from the loss of $1.1 billion it reported a year earlier.
Waymo plans to launch a robotaxi service in Detroit, Las Vegas, and San Diego. If it seems like Waymo is ramping up quickly, you would be correct. Don’t forget, last month at TechCrunch Disrupt, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said that by the end of 2026, “you should expect us to be offering 1 million trips per week.” Waymo hasn’t shared that weekly number since April, when it was more than 250,000 trips per week.
One more thing …
It’s time for a poll! Sign up for the newsletter to participate. Have a question you want us to ask? Email me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com.
