Senator Elizabeth Warren has asked Tesla Inc.’s board to investigate whether Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is using the electric-vehicle maker’s resources to benefit other companies he owns and runs.
In a 10-page letter sent Thursday to Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm, the Democratic senator said Musk’s activities — like diverting computer chips from the carmaker to his social media company X Corp. — may be inappropriate. Musk acknowledged in June he sent the graphics processing units to X and artificial intelligence venture xAI Corp., saying they would have otherwise sat in a warehouse.
Warren argued diverting the chips could be a “misappropriation of corporate resources” and said founding xAI in itself is an “unavoidable conflict of interest” for Musk.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The senator also raised concerns that Tesla’s board may have “neglected” its corporate governance duties and that the company lacks oversight. She wants additional information to better understand whether the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory agencies may need to intervene.
Warren, who sits on the Senate’s Banking and Armed Services committees, has voiced similar concerns in the past, and has asked the SEC to investigate Tesla before.