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Editor of Every Economic Report: Bi Luming

Musk’s “old enemy” is back again.

Recently, U.S. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren asked Tesla's board of directors to investigate whether CEO Elon Musk used Tesla's resources to profit other companies he owns and operates.

"The Tesla Board appears to have failed in its fiduciary duty to Tesla shareholders by neglecting to address the clear conflicts of interest of the Company's Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk," she said in a 10-page letter to Tesla Chairwoman Robyn Denholm. She argued that Musk's actions, such as diverting computer chips from Tesla to social media company X and artificial intelligence business xAI, may be inappropriate.

Earlier, Musk admitted in June that he would divert the artificial intelligence chips ordered for Tesla to X and xAI, saying that if he didn't do so, they would sit idle in the warehouse. Warren believes that the transfer of chips is a "misappropriation of company resources" and that Musk's creation of xAI itself may constitute an "inevitable conflict of interest."

It is understood that Warren has expressed similar concerns in the past and has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Tesla.

It is understood that the friction between Elon Musk and Senator Elizabeth Warren began around December 2021. The conflict was ignited when Senator Warren tweeted that Musk was named Person of the Year by Time magazine, criticizing Musk for paying very little tax despite being the richest man in the world. She advocates for a fairer tax system that allows the rich to pay their share. Musk responded provocatively, calling Warren "Senator Karen" and suggesting that she was like an embarrassing "angry mother."

The quarrel between the two has never stopped since then. Musk has repeatedly criticized Warren's policies and political positions, especially on taxes and regulations. He accused her of misleading the public with populist positions and not performing her duties effectively. Warren continued to emphasize the issue of billionaires' tax contributions and their impact on public policy, and directly named Musk many times.

In late 2022, Warren wrote to Tesla's board of directors because Musk sold billions of dollars worth of Tesla shares, in part to finance a leveraged buyout of Twitter (now Company X).

In August 2023, Senator Elizabeth Warren said in Washington that the US Senate should investigate Elon Musk's actions in preventing Ukrainian drones from attacking the Russian naval fleet in the Black Sea in 2022. She told reporters during the first AI Insight Forum that it was necessary to investigate the content of the contract on how Musk had such power. At the same time, she also mentioned that the US Department of Defense should review its contract with SpaceX to ensure that foreign policy is made by the government rather than individual billionaires.

On March 21, Elizabeth Warren once again called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk on corporate governance issues. Warren pointed out that Tesla's board of directors lacks independence from Musk, and Musk uses his control over the board to serve his personal interests rather than the best interests of Tesla shareholders. In addition, Warren also mentioned that Musk threatened to move Tesla's artificial intelligence product development to Texas, raising new concerns about resource redirection and conflicts of interest.

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