Tesla has booked $890 million in revenue from SpaceX and xAI since 2023, money flowing between companies controlled by Elon Musk. The payments, disclosed in a regulatory filing, pit the electric-car maker against its own chief executive’s other ventures — and they’re drawing fresh scrutiny over how the board handles conflicts.
Revenue tied to Musk’s other companies
The payments cover a range of goods and services, according to Tesla’s filings. SpaceX and xAI, the artificial-intelligence startup Musk founded last year, are both private companies where he serves as CEO. The $890 million total represents revenue Tesla recognized from those two entities since the start of 2023.
Tesla doesn’t break out exactly how much came from each company or what was sold. The carmaker has previously mentioned supplying batteries and powertrain parts to SpaceX, as well as providing data-center services. xAI, meanwhile, uses Tesla’s supercomputing infrastructure for training its Grok chatbot.
Governance questions mount
The interlocking relationships pose a familiar problem for Tesla’s board: how to ensure a fair deal when the person on both sides of the table is Musk. He owns roughly 13% of Tesla, about 42% of SpaceX, and a majority stake in xAI.
Corporate governance experts — though not quoted here — have long warned that such arrangements can shortchange shareholders if the terms aren’t arm’s length. The filing itself acknowledges “potential conflicts of interest” and says the transactions were reviewed by a committee of independent directors. But the committee’s composition and decision-making process are not described in detail.
Transparency is the other flashpoint. Tesla only disclosed the $890 million figure in a recent quarterly report, bundled into a line item called “revenue from related parties.” Investors had no prior visibility into the scale of these deals.
Regulatory and investor attention
The disclosure comes at a time when the Securities and Exchange Commission is already examining Tesla’s governance practices. The agency has asked the company for information about Musk’s 2018 “funding secured” tweet and about whether the board properly oversaw related-party transactions.
Shareholder lawsuits have also targeted similar deals. A 2023 derivative complaint alleged that Tesla overpaid for services from Musk’s other companies, though Tesla denied the claims. The new revenue figure could become ammunition in ongoing litigation.
What’s next
Tesla’s next quarterly filing is due in late April. Investors will be watching for any change in the related-party revenue line and for any additional details about the contracts with SpaceX and xAI. The independent directors’ committee is expected to release a more thorough report on its review process — though no date has been set.
