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Musk denies $10B fundraising at xAI after CNBC report

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Elon Musk pushed back on Friday against a CNBC report that his AI startup xAI was raising $10 billion at a post-money valuation of $200 billion. “Fake news. xAI is not raising any capital right now,” Musk wrote on X, dismissing claims the firm was in talks with investors.

CNBC had reported that the funds would be used to build massive data centers with Nvidia and AMD GPUs and recruit top AI talent as xAI ramps up to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude. The company operates the Colossus supercomputer cluster in Memphis, Tennessee, which Musk has described as the world’s largest.

Investor interest in AI firms remains strong despite questions over the sustainability of big tech spending. If true, the $200B valuation would have more than doubled xAI’s reported $75B valuation in July and placed it among the world’s most valuable private companies—behind OpenAI, ByteDance, and SpaceX, but ahead of Anthropic, which recently raised funds at a $183B valuation.

Musk’s denial comes amid conflicting signals. In June, Morgan Stanley reported that xAI had already raised $5B in debt financing alongside a $5B strategic equity investment to expand its infrastructure. While Musk insists no new round is underway, xAI continues to scale aggressively, seeking to establish itself as a rival to OpenAI, which may soon be valued at $500B in a planned stock sale.

Tesla to Launch Robotaxi Trial in Austin by End of June, Says Elon Musk

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Tesla is preparing to begin its much-anticipated robotaxi pilot program in Austin, Texas, by the end of June, CEO Elon Musk confirmed in an interview with CNBC. The trial marks a significant milestone for the electric carmaker’s shift toward autonomous driving and AI-driven products.

Initially, Tesla plans to deploy about 10 self-driving vehicles in select “safest” parts of Austin, with the goal of scaling up to approximately 1,000 cars over the following months. The launch comes at a critical time for Tesla, as global sales have slowed amid growing EV competition and mounting scrutiny of Musk’s political affiliations and side ventures.

Musk emphasized that Tesla’s long-term future hinges on autonomy and its humanoid robot project, Optimus. “The only things that matter in the long term are autonomy and Optimus,” he stated, underlining the strategic pivot away from building a low-cost EV platform.

The robotaxi launch will face close examination from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is currently investigating incidents involving Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, particularly in low-visibility conditions. The regulator recently asked Tesla to detail how its robotaxis will operate in adverse weather.

Meanwhile, Musk revealed that Tesla is in licensing discussions with major automakers interested in using its FSD software — a potential revenue stream that could help commercialize the robotaxi platform faster.

Beyond Tesla, Musk’s AI startup xAI is also making headlines. The company is expanding a massive supercomputer cluster named “Colossus” in Memphis, Tennessee, which will feature one million of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips — part of a broader plan to train advanced AI models. xAI recently acquired a 1-million-square-foot property in Memphis to support the buildout.

While a merger between Tesla and xAI is not currently planned, Musk did not rule it out entirely, stating it would require shareholder approval if it were to move forward.

Musk’s xAI Joins Palantir and TWG in Financial Sector AI Expansion

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Elon Musk’s AI firm, xAI, has officially teamed up with Palantir Technologies and investment group TWG Global in a major push to bring artificial intelligence solutions to the financial services and insurance industries, the companies announced Tuesday.

TWG Global, led by Guggenheim Partners founder Mark Walter and entertainment financier Thomas Tull, will spearhead implementation efforts by working directly with financial firms to integrate AI into operational decision-making and customer offerings.

The partnership will incorporate xAI’s proprietary technologies, including its Grok large language models and the Colossus supercomputer, into enterprise AI platforms. Palantir will provide its powerful data analytics infrastructure to support model deployment.

This initiative marks a significant step as financial institutions increasingly seek AI-driven insights to streamline processes, automate decision-making, and reduce risk. The companies noted they expect to onboard additional partners in the coming months.

The collaboration follows a growing trend of AI-aligned alliances: in March, xAI and Nvidia joined forces with a consortium backed by Microsoft, MGX, and BlackRock to scale AI infrastructure across the U.S.