How much money does Elon Musk make from his companies? Reliable figures are only available from Tesla. And now he is finishing production of two models.
Tesla is ceasing production of the Model S and Model X. Officially, Tesla needs the space in the factory for Optimus, the humanoid robot. Unofficially, this step says something different: the old stories no longer hold water and Musk is running out of ideas in the car segment.
Tesla has long been a mass manufacturer with the Model 3 and Y, but the urgently needed new models are not in sight. But the stock market needs more than solid cars. It takes vision. And that is exactly what robots and autonomy are now supposed to deliver.
But so far these visions have functioned primarily as stories and not in reality. Elon Musk himself recently had to admit that the Optimus robot is not yet doing any “useful work” in Tesla’s factories.
This is notable because the robot has been sold as the next industrial revolution for months. Musk used to be able to point to real products, but today he talks about robots that don’t yet work.
The old business model is a thing of the past
This is more than a development problem. It’s a role change. Tesla is no longer run as a car manufacturer, but as a bet for the future. The production of vehicles is sacrificed to create space for new narratives. Autonomy instead of sales. Robots instead of returns. Anyone who sees this critically will quickly hear the old Musk reflex: You just have to be patient. But patience is not a business model.
This is the dangerous moment for every entrepreneur with a myth: when products are no longer the focus, but rather stories.
This is even clearer at xAI, Musk’s AI company. It is the classic promise of our time: artificial intelligence as a new universal infrastructure. Only: xAI does not publish regular annual reports, is not listed on the stock exchange and lives from financing rounds and visions. Media reports speak of high losses and an enormous cash burn of up to $1 billion per month. That sounds like a lot, but it is within the range of money that other AI companies burn.
The problem with xAI so far, however, is that it is rarely used and only makes a name for itself when users create sexualized images of celebrities. xAI therefore seems less like a company and more like a very high-stakes bet. This is in an extremely competitive environment where investors are starting to get nervous and demand results.
xAI is a money grab
The fact that xAI is now being pulled under SpaceX is not a stroke of strategic genius, but rather a protective mechanism. The empire no longer grows through products, but through consolidation. If individual parts do not support themselves, they are integrated into larger constructs. It is not market logic that stabilizes the system, but rather a restructuring that is intended to reassure investors.
Musk’s role is also changing. He was successful as long as his companies built visible things: cars, rockets or batteries. Today he sells promises. Tesla is becoming a platform for autonomy, even if the technology behind the cars is far from being there yet. Optimus becomes a projection surface for industrial fantasies and xAI becomes the appropriate AI companion that promises a lot but cannot do anything.
This is the dangerous moment for every entrepreneur with a myth: when products are no longer the focus, but rather stories. When balance sheet is replaced by vision. When decommissioning is sold as the future. Elon Musk’s empire is crumbling not because it is failing, but because it is all about managing loans.
