TechCrunch Mobility: Elon Musk’s threats worked | TechCrunch

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Have you heard? Elon Musk got his $1 trillion pay package. Of course you did, because coverage of that long-awaited 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 may recall that Musk repeatedly talked about the need to get Tesla under control and offered a variety of scenarios, including one involving a robot army, to make the case.

And the stakes were high; if he didn’t get that control, he threatened to leave. Shareholders simply could not and did not want to imagine Tesla without Elon.

All that money, power and control increases for Musk as Tesla hits milestones based on operations, adjusted earnings and market cap. Each tranche, if the target is reached, will deliver 35.3 million shares to Musk. For example, the first tranche milestone is a market cap of $2 trillion. Today, Tesla’s market cap is approximately $1.5 trillion.

Tesla is a strange creature whose stock price often has nothing to do with its 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 results weren’t particularly good. I’m sure this is incredibly frustrating for other car manufacturers.

That’s why I’m more interested in some of the products and custom profit goals associated with 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 take a survey about these goals.

Musk used the shareholder meeting for more than just a victory lap, although that atmosphere was certainly present. He made a number of predictions and promises, including that production of his Cybercab will begin in April and that the company may have to build a “gigantic” semiconductor factory. He also revisited the Roadster 2, which was first unveiled as a prototype in 2017. A production version will now be shown on April 1, 2026 – yes, April Fools’ Day.

Reminder: That Master Plan 4, which was the centerpiece of Tesla’s pitch to shareholders to approve the $1 trillion payroll package, is still woefully short on details.

A little bird

We are working on a few spicy items, but nothing is ready yet. In the meantime, remember that our emails are always open for tips.

Do you have 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.

Offers!

Beta technologiesthe electric aviation startup, pushed ahead with its IPO despite the government shutdown, thanks to some relaxed rules courtesy of the SEC. The company debuted on the New York Stock Exchange with an outsized $1 billion in proceeds.

And while the stock price didn’t skyrocket on its first day of trading, it didn’t fall either — which has happened with a few recent IPOs.

The Vermont-based company priced shares in its IPO at $34, above the forecast 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 at $36 and even held that level the next day. Shares have since fallen to around $31.

Of course, this is a long game and Beta Technologies is still working on commercializing its aerospace products. Let’s see where the company will be a year from now – and what its share price will be.

Other deals that caught my attention this week…

Sagittarius Aviation Raised $650 million through an equity offering of 81.25 million shares, funds that will support the $126 million acquisition of Hawthorne Airport, a strategically important airport in Los Angeles. Shareholders did not react positively and shares fell by more than 12.6% on Friday.

Fun fact: this airport is located in Elon Musk’s backyard, next to a fantastic restaurant. The Tesla Design Studio and SpaceX are right next door and the airport has been used for several product launches, including the Tesla Semi.

Evotrexa startup developing a hybrid camper-travel trailer with an integrated gas engine has emerged from 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 engine sold its entire stake in the ride-hailing company Quick for ₹2.88 billion (approximately $32 million) to Accel and Prosus’ investment unit, MIH Investments.

Lucid engines’ The majority shareholder – Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund – increased the limit of a loan deal from $750 million to around $2 billion, providing liquidity to the company until 2027.

Rivaans reported third-quarter results this week, and amid the financial results, there was a head-scratcher. The company has spun off another business – this time it’s called an industrial AI and robotics business Mental robotics. Recall that 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 Behla partner at Eclipse who formerly worked at Rivian is a major financier of Also.

Notable reading and other tidbits

Bryant Walker Smithassociate professor in the School of Law and (by courtesy) in the School of Engineering at the University of South Carolina, has been an expert and advisor to governments and safety organizations on automated driving for years – especially when it comes to how it is communicated to the public. He released an article last month that I would be remiss if I didn’t share here. It’s called ‘Self-driving’ means self-driving.

Ford executives agonize over whether to kill the F-150 Lightning truck.

Bright is in the midst of a board shake-up as it continues its search for a permanent CEO. The EV maker’s chief engineer Erik Bach leaves the company after more than ten years and Jerry Fordwho was Vice President of Quality, is retiring. TechCrunch has also learned James Hawkinswho was VP of Engineering is also no longer with the company. Meanwhile, Senior Vice President of Powertrain, Mothers Dlalawill be elevated to oversee all things “Engineering and Digital”.

shine continues to struggle. The company was recently hit by one deportation order for one of the offices in Orlando, Florida.

Lyft had one 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 growth (15% year-over-year to 248.8 million) and revenue up 11% to $1.69 billion compared to the same period a year ago.

Rivaans has been posted third quarter profit and while the company is still operating at a loss, its revenue results have been good for Wall Street. The company’s revenue rose 78% year-over-year to $1.56 billion – and that’s no small feat. But the company also posted a hefty third-quarter loss of $1.17 billion, up 6% from the $1.1 billion loss 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 growing quickly, you’re right. Remember, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said last month at TechCrunch Disrupt that by the end of 2026, “you can expect us to be offering 1 million trips per week.” Waymo hasn’t shared that weekly number since April, when it was still more than 250,000 rides per week.

One more thing…

It’s time for a poll! Sign up for the newsletter to participate. Do you have a question you would like us to ask? Email me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com.