{"id":282235,"date":"2025-11-10T00:19:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T00:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/282235\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T00:19:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T00:19:17","slug":"techcrunch-mobility-elon-musks-threats-worked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/282235\/","title":{"rendered":"TechCrunch Mobility: Elon Musk’s threats worked"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for all things \u201cfuture of transportation.\u201d\u00a0To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free \u2014 just click TechCrunch Mobility<\/a>!<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. But what does this actually mean?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yes, this is about money, but it\u2019s 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<\/a>, to argue for it.<\/p>\n

And the stakes were high; if he didn\u2019t get that control, he threatened to leave. Shareholders simply could not, did not want to imagine Tesla without Elon.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s market cap sits at about $1.5 trillion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tesla is a weird animal in which its share price often has nothing to do with actual fundamentals. It\u2019s not unusual for Tesla\u2019s stock price to rise because of comments Musk made during an earnings call even if its quarterly figures weren\u2019t particularly good. I\u2019m sure this is incredibly frustrating for other automakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Techcrunch event<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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<\/a> will begin in April and that the company might need to build a \u201cgigantic\u201d semiconductor fabrication plant. He also punted on the Roadster 2<\/a> again, which was first revealed as a prototype vehicle in 2017. A production version will now be shown on April 1, 2026 \u2014 yup, April Fools\u2019 Day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reminder: That Master Plan 4, which was the centerpiece of Tesla\u2019s pitch to shareholders to approve the $1 trillion pay package, is still woefully short on details<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A little bird<\/p>\n

\"blinkyImage Credits:Bryce Durbin<\/p>\n

We\u2019re working on a few spicy items, but nothing that is ready quite yet. In the meantime, remember our emails are always open for tips.<\/p>\n

Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at\u00a0kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com<\/a>\u00a0or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O\u2019Kane at\u00a0sean.okane@techcrunch.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Deals!<\/p>\n

\"moneyImage Credits:Bryce Durbin<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And while the stock price didn\u2019t skyrocket in its first day of trading, it didn\u2019t fall either \u2014 which has happened to a few recent IPOs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of course, this is a long game and Beta Technologies is still working on commercializing its aviation products. Let\u2019s see where the company is at \u2014 and its share price \u2014 a year from now.<\/p>\n

Other deals that got my attention this week \u2026<\/p>\n

Archer Aviation raised $650 million<\/a> 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\u2019t respond favorably and shares fell more than 12.6% Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fun fact: This airport, aside from having a fantastic restaurant, is in Elon Musk\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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<\/a> from Anker, as well as Chinese early-stage venture firms Unity Ventures, Kylinhall Partners, and Vision Plus Capital.<\/p>\n

Indian two-wheeler giant TVS Motor sold its entire stake<\/a> in ride-hailing company Rapido for \u20b92.88 billion (about $32 million) to Accel and Prosus\u2019 investment unit, MIH Investments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lucid Motors\u2019 majority owner \u2014 Saudi Arabia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund \u2014 boosted the cap of a loan agreement<\/a> from $750 million to around $2 billion, which provides the company liquidity until 2027.<\/p>\n

Rivian reported third-quarter earnings this week, and amid the financial results was a head scratcher. The company has spun off another company<\/a> \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

Notable reads and other tidbits<\/p>\n

\"\"Image Credits:Bryce Durbin<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 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\u2019s called \u201cSelf-Driving\u201d Means Self-Driving<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ford executives are mulling over whether to kill off the F-150 Lightning truck<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lucid is in the midst of an executive shake-up<\/a> as it continues its search for a permanent CEO. The EV maker\u2019s chief engineer Eric Bach is leaving the company after more than a decade and Jeri Ford, who was VP of Quality, is retiring.\u00a0TechCrunch 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 \u201cEngineering and Digital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luminar continues to struggle. The company was recently hit with an eviction notice<\/a> for one of its Orlando, Florida, offices.<\/p>\n

Lyft had a positive third quarter<\/a> that included a profit of $46.1 million. That\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rivian posted its third-quarter earnings<\/a> and while the company is still operating at a loss, the revenue results appeased Wall Street. The company\u2019s revenue rose 78% year-over-year to $1.56 billion \u2014 and, hey, that\u2019s not nothin\u2019. 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.<\/p>\n

Waymo plans to launch a robotaxi service in Detroit, Las Vegas, and San Diego<\/a>. If it seems like Waymo is ramping up quickly, you would be correct. Don\u2019t forget, last month at TechCrunch Disrupt, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said that by the end of 2026, \u201cyou should expect us to be offering 1 million trips per week.\u201d Waymo hasn\u2019t shared that weekly number since April, when it was more than 250,000 trips per week.<\/p>\n

One more thing \u2026<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time for a poll! Sign up for the newsletter to participate<\/a>. Have a question you want us to ask? Email me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for all things \u201cfuture of transportation.\u201d\u00a0To get this in your inbox,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282236,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28,11,10136,149244,115527,132450,1019,27958],"class_list":{"0":"post-282235","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-elon-musk","10":"tag-ford","11":"tag-lucid-motors","12":"tag-lyft","13":"tag-rivian","14":"tag-tesla","15":"tag-waymo"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}