In a familiar critique of corporate structures, Musk also weighed in on the ideal environment for fostering such long-term, existentially focused AI. He declared, “For long-term optimization, it is better to be a private than a public company, as the latter is punished for long-term optimization beyond the reward cycle of stock portfolio managers.”

Tesla does not currently have any plans to acquire CEO Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI, but the electric vehicle maker could invest in the company, Musk said over the weekend.

SpaceX has agreed to invest $2 billion in Elon Musk 's artificial intelligence company xAI. The investment makes up nearly half of the company's recent $5 billion equity round, according to investors cited by The Wall Street Journal.