Billionaire Elon Musk is the CEO of publicly traded Tesla Inc TSLA and a CEO and investor in several private companies.
In a recent interview, Musk recommended that companies don't go public.
What Happened: Musk was once sued for a tweet he made stating he had secured funding to take Tesla private. Musk shared in a Spaces Thursday that he did have funding secured and it was just an example of constantly being sued.
When asked about his private companies and funding, Musk shared he would recommend companies don't go public.
The legal burden of being public could lead to being sued nonstop, Musk told Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood during their Spaces conversation.
As a public company, Musk said he goes to great lengths to make sure quarterly reports are great, something he said could be a moral obligation to not have a bad quarter and disappoint people. Musk shared he has spent the last six or seven New Year's Eves at delivery centers to hit year-end goals.
Musk said his approach has been to award stock to employees at his companies.
"I think Tesla may have created more employee millionaires in company history."
Future of SpaceX, Private Companies: Musk was asked Thursday about the potential to take Starlink or SpaceX public.
"I don't think it's worth going public until you have maybe an extremely stable and predictable revenue stream," Musk said.
Musk said at that point going public is less of an issue.
The billionaire shared that all his companies over the years, including over 100 financing rounds have never led to investors losing money, unless of course they sold early.
Musk added that if you treat capital well, capital treats you well in return.
With his wealth and access to capital, Musk said that he could fund The Boring Company and Neuralink in their entirety, but it's good to have other investors involved.
"I think it's good to have other investors. Each investor you add is an ally, good to have more allies."
Musk said it also establishes valuations for companies.
Having other investors and valuations could help make sure that employees who are awarded stock and options are able to achieve liquidity down the road, Musk added.
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